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Pac-10 Men's Soccer Boasts Three Of The Top-5 Recruiting Classes Of 2009
May 6, 2009 Soccer America has released its rankings for the 2009 men's soccer recruiting classes and three Pac-10 squads are listed in the top-5. UCLA boasts the highest-ranked class, landing at No. 3., while Stanford and California follow the Bruins at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. UCLA's class is led by midfielder Amobi Okugo, the only high school senior on the U.S. under-20 national team that played in Concacaf qualifying this spring. Heach Coach Jorge Salcedo loaded up on attacking players as well. Dakota Collins was one of the top strikers in Southern California last yaer. Salcedo also brings in Chandler Hoffman, who scored 77 goals in his first three season of prep soccer in Alabama, Ryan Hollingshead, who had three assists in his Sacramento sectional high school championship game, and Evan Raynr and Michael Roman, who won U.S. Youth Soccer titles in 2006 and 2007 with Real So Cal. Another addition to the Bruin line-up is defender Cesar Morales, who earned Development Academy all-conference honors with Sockers FC Chicago. With the help of reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, Michael Stephens, UCLA will once again compete for the Conference championship. Coming off a 4-11-3 season, Stanford is reloading its front line starting with Dersu Abolfathi, one of the top forwards in this year's senior class, and Adam Jahn, who traveled with the U.S. U-18s to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, where he scored five goals against China, four in the final 10 minutes. "I'm thrilled at the group we've been able to assemble," head coach Bret Simon said. "We've been able to address our pressing needs, and particularly build a quality attacking base for the future." Joining Abolfathi and Jahn is Hunter Gorskie, who is considered one of the top defeders in the country. California rounds out the top-5 of the Soccer America recruiting class rankings. The Bears add forward John Fitzpatrick who was outstanding as a guest player for South Coast Bayern at last summer's Milk Cup. Also headed to Berkeley are Steve Birnbaum, Riley Kovatch, Anthony Salciccia, Chris Ortega, Nick Shackelford and Kyle Marsh. The Bears will also welcome Santa Clara transfer Jeff Cosgriff, who will be a senior next season. Soccer America's Top-15 Recruiting Classes: 1. Akron 2009 Pac-10 Recruiting Classes: California Oregon State San Diego State Stanford UCLA Washington
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