May 2, 2011
Contact: Dan Carr
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hoping to improve upon a 2010 campaign that featured a third place finish in the Horizon League and a berth in the Horizon League Championship semifinals, the Cleveland State men's soccer team has signed four student-athletes, including three transfer students and a high school senior. All four will begin playing for the Vikings in the fall of 2011. Head coach Ali Kazemaini made the announcement on Monday (May 2).
Signing with Cleveland State are Joe Kalt (Westlake, Ohio), Jordan Kotsopoulos (Oakville, Ontario), Visnu Maharaj (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) and Cazz Warren (Toronto, Ontario). Kalt and Maharaj will enter CSU as freshmen with four seasons of eligibility while Kotsopoulos will enter as a sophomore and Warren will enter as a junior.
Kalt, a 6-foot goalkeeper, is a redshirt freshman who spent last season at Cincinnati. A four-year letterwinner at St. Ignatius, Kalt led the Wildcats to a state runner-up finish in 2009, earning team defensive MVP honors in the process. He started 23 games that season, allowing only five goals all year while recording 17 shutouts.
"Joe is a Cleveland guy that will give us much needed depth in the goalkeeper position," assistant coach T.J. Kolba said. "We are confident in his ability, and he should develop into someone that we can count on when the game is on the line."
Kotsopoulos, a 5-foot-9 midfielder, won an NCAA Division II National Championship as a freshman at Northern Kentucky last season, starting 24 games and being named to the NCAA Division II All Tournament Team. He recorded three assists last year.
"Jordan is a well rounded midfielder that will add depth to our midfield," Kolba said. "He is fantastic on the ball and does well finding other players, and should help us move the ball laterally and vertically. We are excited to have him aboard and look forward to seeing him help us win games."
Currently a senior at North Cross High in Roanoke, Va., Maharaj spent his freshman and sophomore years at Colegio Loyola Bumilla in Venezuela, where he was selected to the U15 Venezuela National Team in 2007. A 6-foot-2 defender, Maharaj helped the U17 Venezuela National Team become a qualifier for the 2009 World Cup. At North Cross, he earned all-conference first team and Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association first team honors as both a junior and a senior.
"Visnu is a very solid central defender that has the ability to start from day one," Kolba said. "He is very confident on the ball and will help us build from the back, as well as win balls in the air and on set plays. We are excited to have a player like Visnu come to Cleveland, and are eager to see him help us from day one."
Warren, a 5-foot-11 forward, will be transferring from Adrian College where he twice made the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association second team as a freshman and sophomore. In 2009, he scored nine goals, and followed that performance in 2010 by scoring eight goals with three assists.
"Cazz's best asset is his pace, which puts him in great spots to score goals," Kolba said. "He is composed and confident in and around the box and should give us another dangerous option in the attacking third."
