April 23, 2007

Contact: Josh Rattray

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Five Ohio standouts, including four from the Greater Cleveland Area, comprise head coach Ali Kazemaini's second recruiting class. Nick Harpel, Audric Kilroy, Korey Smerk, Jeff Baker and Nick Yeager will take the field for CSU starting in the fall of 2007.

"This recruiting class is not as big as last year's class, but the talent level is just as high," Kazemaini said. "For the second straight year, we concentrated on bringing in local players, as well as a few other standouts from Ohio who we expect to contribute next season. "

Harpel, a four-year starter at goalkeeper for St. John's Jesuit High School, earned team MVP honors in his final two seasons and was named Northwest Ohio Player of the Year and first team all-district last year. He also enjoyed a lot of success in the club soccer circuit, being named to the ODP State team and Y-League MVP. Harpel, an honors student in all four years at St. John's Jesuit, also won the 2006 National Goalie Wars Championship.

"Nick is a big, strong goalkeeper and will help strengthen our defense.  He is a good shot stopper, but is also very good in the air on crosses," Kazemaini said. "We expect him to challenge for a starting spot from day one."   

Kilroy, a third team all-state honoree last year, is a versatile player who can play any position in the field. He played his first three high school seasons at St. Ignatius before completing his career with a second team all-conference campaign at Independence High School. In club soccer, Kilroy was a member of the ODP North State team as well as the Super Y National team.

"Audric is one of the best local recruits coming out of Northeast Ohio this year.  He is very physical as well as technical, which makes him a very versatile soccer player," Kazemaini said. "He could contribute from the back all the way to a target player."

Smerk, a midfielder from Midpark High School whose brother plays soccer at Wright State, was named first team all-conference and second team all-Greater Cleveland in his senior season that saw him lead his team in goals and assists. He was team captain and earned team MVP honors as a senior. Smerk, who also lettered in cross country, swimming and track, was an ODP State team member and played five years in Cleveland's Super Y league.

"Korey is a very talented midfield player with the ball at his feet," Kazemaini said. "He will help us build our attack and get our offense going, as well as provide depth in the midfield."

Baker, a first team all-state midfielder/forward from Vermillion High School, captured Lorain County Player of the Year and All-North Central District honors in his final three high school season. He scored 216 career points at Vermillion (95g, 26a) en route to being named all-conference three times.

"Jeff is a good left-footed player, and in our opinion is a very underrated local player.  We think he will surprise a lot of people with his speed on the outside, which will add something different to our attack."

Yeager, a first team all-city and all-conference midfielder from Fairfield High School, led his high school team to a state final appearance as a senior and won the Midfield Playmaker Award. He led his club soccer team, Cincinnati United Premier, to a pair of state championships and was a ODP South State team member for five years.

"Nick is a very creative midfield player, and we expect him to contribute right away as an attacking midfielder," Kazemaini said.  "We're counting on a lot of good things from him and he should contribute a lot during his freshman season."

Kazemaini's five new players will be added to a team that already is very young. CSU, which graduates just three seniors from last year's squad, regularly started eight freshmen last season.

"We don't lose many players to graduation and we're still young as a team overall," Kazemaini said. "We hope all of our young players can challenge each other for starting roles in the fall."

The Vikings return 16 lettermen, including 10 of its regular starters, from last year's team that finished 6-10-2. CSU improved 6.5 games from 2005, the largest improvement in the nation.