2009 Recruiting Class

[Big D]

The 11 student-athletes joining the UIC men's soccer team this fall are:

Josh Beard (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg H.S.)
Felipe Carrasco (Iowa City, Iowa/Shattuck St. Mary's H.S. of Faribault, Minn.)
Phil Galounis (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central H.S.)
Zach Kaleta (Barrington, Ill./Barrington H.S.)
Piotr Kikolski (Harwood Heights, Ill./Maine South H.S.)
Tim O'Conner (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University H.S.)
Ned Pavlovic (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook South H.S.)
Joe Radice (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade College Preparatory School)
Alex Rickett (Northville, Mich./Northville H.S./ Maine)
Ivan Stanisavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sportska Gimnazija)
Zach Tierney (Wildwood, Mo./Christian Brothers College H.S./ New Mexico)

www.uicflames.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/061909aaa.html

[UICJohn]

Josh Beard was an All - State I believe two years in a row and was a starter on his varsity team for all four years. Via an article on ESPN.com, he chose UIC over Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Ivan Stanisavljevic participated in the Serbian national U-19 team.

Zach Tierney is a transfer from New Mexico who is already an MLS prospect.

[uic53]

Wow! Certainly can't complain about this recruiting class. Just makes me even more excited for the season to get under way. Especially with the great schedule this year! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Tierney and Beard play. I think we may have to wait another year or two to see a lot of these other guys get serious minutes due to the depth in the program. Trask seemed to add some serious quality and depth with this class. I love to see it and hope it continues for years to come!

[UICJohn]

Well, I have read that Younger and Tierney could possibly be one of the best defensive tandems in the entire NCAA. Both of them definitely have professional talent and professional prospects.

Josh Beard is supposed to be an incredible talent who also should get some time, if not start, right away. He was a big time scorer in high school but that kind of went down during his senior season not because he had a bad year but just because his coach played him in so many positions because he is so versatile.

Ivan Stanisavljevic also could see some big time minutes being a national team player.

Now I am not expert on soccer recruiting and most of what I say is stuff I have read elsewhere, but apparently Joe Radice is also a very good prospect. Overall, a very good class and well worth the wait.