Francisco Rivero/ Contributing Writer
FIU men’s soccer coach Kenny Arena announced the addition of six new signees to the 2012 men’s soccer team which included three defenders, two midfielders, and one forward.
Photo by Jonathan Segal
Arena was very straightforward about what he was looking for in his 2012 recruiting class.
“We needed depth defensively, and I feel that we have filled those needs with this year’s recruiting class,” Arena said.
The signee that has the most polished background is Daniel Gonzalez. He is a midfielder out of Miami Killian Senior High School where he scored 76 career goals.
He was named All-Miami Dade and team MVP his junior and senior seasons. A Copa-Dorada Hispanic Athlete Award recipient, he traveled to England as a member of the Chelsea Disney Showcase all-star team.
Arena saw the great potential that Daniel Gonzalez could bring to this Panther team.
“Danny will be playing an attacking role and he’s already developed great leadership qualities, I can see him making an impact right away,” Arena said. “Danny is the player that everyone should keep an eye on this year. He is very talented, smart, and responsible on and off the field and that’s a recipe for becoming a great player.”
Another signee is Kevin Barber, a defender from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.
“Kevin is a very good athlete,”Arena said. “He brings a little bit of a different defensive style than what we have.”
Kwesi Alleyne, a defender from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, N.J., comes into FIU with a lot of success under his belt. He was a four-time all-county first-team honoree while his team also went on to win the district finals all four years he was in school, while at the same time reaching two state finals.
Alleyne is also a former ESPN Rise Magazine Athlete of the Year.
“I feel that he’s hungry to be successful again because he’s coming back to FIU for a change,” Arena said.
This is not the first time that Alleyne and Barber will meet on the field. In 2008, they played together on the Schulz Academy club team.
“That was a plus, chemistry obviously happens but it takes time and to have two players that have chemistry along with the three freshman who also played together on the same team is just going to be huge for us,” Arena said.
Icaro Marcos Cesar De Oliveria, or Iko for short, is a midfielder from Tyler College in Tyler, Texas. Iko attended Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Fla., where he scored 32 goals with 28 assists in his four-year career. He comes in to FIU with a championship background having won the state championship in 2008.
“Iko is not only talented but he probably will be the hardest worker that we have,” Arena said.
The remaining two signees are Lyle Lindquist, a defender/midfielder from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest, where he was a two-time, All-Dade selection and Andrew Mattek, a forward from West Boca Raton High School, where he scored 20 goals in his junior season and was a two-time, all-county selection. Lindquist and Mattek were teammates with Daniel Gonzalez on Kendall SC in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. They join Gonzalez as the freshmen on the squad.
“The three incoming freshman are probably the three best players in Miami,” Arena said. “To make such a quick impression to the community, their families, and their dedication towards FIU says a lot about what we’ve done and what we’re going to do in the future.”
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