Mavs Announce 2012 Signing Class
May 25, 2012 | General, Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Nebraska Omaha men's soccer program announced the addition of 14 new players for the 2012 season on Friday, including six who bring United States Soccer Development Academy experience to the Mavericks.
Head Coach Jason Mims brought in a wide-range of backgrounds to the UNO program, including players born in Bosnia, Brazil and Guinea. Two Omaha natives will call UNO home, as well as players from Arizona, California, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and South Dakota.
Omaha's Jake Linden, a Creighton Prep alum and the 2011 Gatorade Nebraska Boys' Soccer Player of the Year, is coming home after spending one season at Xavier. Linden's freshman season was cut short due to injury, and he will have four years of eligibility remaining. In 2011, he played in four games and had one assist for the Musketeers, who won the Atlantic 10 and reached the NCAA Tournament. At Creighton Prep, Linden led the Junior Jays to a 20-0 record and the Class A state championship as a senior with 14 goals and 13 assists. He was a three-time first-team all-state selection by the Omaha World-Herald.
The other local addition is Salvador "Chava" Garcia, who recently completed his senior season at Omaha South. Garcia recorded nine goals and four assists before shifting to defense for the Packers, who qualified for the Nebraska Class A State Tournament for the third straight season. Garcia helped the Packers reach the 2010 Class A championship game as a sophomore.
Five newcomers got a head start and enrolled at UNO before the beginning of the 2012 spring semester and trained with the Mavs throughout spring drills.
Three of the five are college transfers. Goalkeeper Matt Grosey is a junior college transfer from West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif. Grosey was the Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year twice with goals against averages of 0.58 as a freshman and 0.89 as a sophomore. Grosey's teammate, forward Thomas Torres, will also be a junior for UNO this fall. Torres led West Valley in scoring last year with five goals and one assist. A Morgan Hill, Calif., native, Torres earned second-team All-Coast Conference honors in 2011. Nick Miller will be a sophomore for the Mavs after playing one year at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. Miller started all 18 matches as a true freshman defender last year at Lewis, posting one assist. The Chandler, Ariz., native spent time with Real Salt Lake Academy prior to his collegiate career.
In addition to the three transfers, two other incomers for next season are already well acclimated into the UNO program. One is another Real Salt Lake Academy product in freshman midfielder Devin Diego. A native of Las Vegas, Diego was an Olympic Development Program Region IV team member and earned Las Vegas Review-Journal Class 4A All-Southern Nevada, All-Sunrise Region and All-Southeast League honors two years in a row as an attacking midfielder at Silverado High School. Felipe da Silva, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the final early arrival. Da Silva was a standout defender and captain of his club team, Americas. The sophomore-to-be attended Centro Educacional das Americas in Rio de Janeiro.
The rest of the recruiting class spans the Midwest all the way to the West Coast. Adama Keita and his twin brother, Ibrahim Keita, come to UNO from Prairie Seeds Academy in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Adama Keita is a standout attacker for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's Minnesota Thunder. Playing the 2011-12 season as a 16-year-old on the Thunder's U17/18 squad, Adama Keita has eight goals through 16 games so far. He was Minnesota's Class 1A Mr. Soccer Runner-Up as a senior with 28 goals and 20 assists at PSA. Ibrahim Keita is a starting center back for the Minnesota Thunder's U15/16 squad and was named defensive player of the year at Prairie Seeds Academy in 2011. The Keita brothers, who were born in N'zerekore, Guinea, helped PSA post a 39-1-3 record in the program's first two years of existence, including a state championship.
Mims and Assistant Coach Tim Walters tapped into their St. Louis connections to pull three players from the area. Emir Alihodzic (midfielder), Danny Gustafson (goalkeeper) and Lucas Hake (midfielder) will all be freshmen at UNO next year. Alihodzic was a Missouri Class 3 Second-Team All-State and Suburban West First-Team All-Conference pick after leading Mehlville High School with 18 goals and 10 assists as a senior. Alihodzic was born in Bosnia and lived in Germany before moving to America. He split time with Scott Gallagher Academy and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Alihodzic's high school teammate and fellow incoming freshman, Danny Gustafson, was a three-year letterwinner at goalkeeper for Mehlville, recording seven shutouts as a senior and a .817 save percentage. The other St. Louis product is Lucas Hake, a four-year varsity midfielder at Lafayette High School. Hake was a second-team all-conference honoree as a sophomore and played club soccer for the renowned Lou Fusz Soccer Club.
Finally, the Mavs plucked midfielder Giovanni Giattino out of Santa Cruz, Calif., and midfielder Houston Hoffman, a junior transfer from Northern Illinois and native of Sioux Falls, S.D. Giattino was a three-year center midfielder at Santa Cruz High School before focusing his senior year on club soccer with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's Santa Cruz Breakers. Giattino has started 19 games this season and has one goal and leads the team in assists. He posted 10 goals and 15 assists in his junior year at Santa Cruz. Hoffman played two seasons at Northern Illinois and scored one goal in 11 games. He helped the Huskies finish 15-6 in 2011 and reach the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Hoffman was a three-time first-team all-state selection at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls. He led Lincoln to a 37-game unbeaten streak and won two state championships. He totaled 42 goals and 28 assists in his prep career.
The incoming class joins 11 returning Mavericks, all of whom were regular starters last year. UNO will still be one of the youngest squads in the nation as they begin play in the The Summit League in 2012. The Mavs have no seniors on their roster and only six juniors.
Head Coach Jason Mims brought in a wide-range of backgrounds to the UNO program, including players born in Bosnia, Brazil and Guinea. Two Omaha natives will call UNO home, as well as players from Arizona, California, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and South Dakota.
Omaha's Jake Linden, a Creighton Prep alum and the 2011 Gatorade Nebraska Boys' Soccer Player of the Year, is coming home after spending one season at Xavier. Linden's freshman season was cut short due to injury, and he will have four years of eligibility remaining. In 2011, he played in four games and had one assist for the Musketeers, who won the Atlantic 10 and reached the NCAA Tournament. At Creighton Prep, Linden led the Junior Jays to a 20-0 record and the Class A state championship as a senior with 14 goals and 13 assists. He was a three-time first-team all-state selection by the Omaha World-Herald.
The other local addition is Salvador "Chava" Garcia, who recently completed his senior season at Omaha South. Garcia recorded nine goals and four assists before shifting to defense for the Packers, who qualified for the Nebraska Class A State Tournament for the third straight season. Garcia helped the Packers reach the 2010 Class A championship game as a sophomore.
Five newcomers got a head start and enrolled at UNO before the beginning of the 2012 spring semester and trained with the Mavs throughout spring drills.
Three of the five are college transfers. Goalkeeper Matt Grosey is a junior college transfer from West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif. Grosey was the Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year twice with goals against averages of 0.58 as a freshman and 0.89 as a sophomore. Grosey's teammate, forward Thomas Torres, will also be a junior for UNO this fall. Torres led West Valley in scoring last year with five goals and one assist. A Morgan Hill, Calif., native, Torres earned second-team All-Coast Conference honors in 2011. Nick Miller will be a sophomore for the Mavs after playing one year at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. Miller started all 18 matches as a true freshman defender last year at Lewis, posting one assist. The Chandler, Ariz., native spent time with Real Salt Lake Academy prior to his collegiate career.
In addition to the three transfers, two other incomers for next season are already well acclimated into the UNO program. One is another Real Salt Lake Academy product in freshman midfielder Devin Diego. A native of Las Vegas, Diego was an Olympic Development Program Region IV team member and earned Las Vegas Review-Journal Class 4A All-Southern Nevada, All-Sunrise Region and All-Southeast League honors two years in a row as an attacking midfielder at Silverado High School. Felipe da Silva, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the final early arrival. Da Silva was a standout defender and captain of his club team, Americas. The sophomore-to-be attended Centro Educacional das Americas in Rio de Janeiro.
The rest of the recruiting class spans the Midwest all the way to the West Coast. Adama Keita and his twin brother, Ibrahim Keita, come to UNO from Prairie Seeds Academy in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Adama Keita is a standout attacker for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's Minnesota Thunder. Playing the 2011-12 season as a 16-year-old on the Thunder's U17/18 squad, Adama Keita has eight goals through 16 games so far. He was Minnesota's Class 1A Mr. Soccer Runner-Up as a senior with 28 goals and 20 assists at PSA. Ibrahim Keita is a starting center back for the Minnesota Thunder's U15/16 squad and was named defensive player of the year at Prairie Seeds Academy in 2011. The Keita brothers, who were born in N'zerekore, Guinea, helped PSA post a 39-1-3 record in the program's first two years of existence, including a state championship.
Mims and Assistant Coach Tim Walters tapped into their St. Louis connections to pull three players from the area. Emir Alihodzic (midfielder), Danny Gustafson (goalkeeper) and Lucas Hake (midfielder) will all be freshmen at UNO next year. Alihodzic was a Missouri Class 3 Second-Team All-State and Suburban West First-Team All-Conference pick after leading Mehlville High School with 18 goals and 10 assists as a senior. Alihodzic was born in Bosnia and lived in Germany before moving to America. He split time with Scott Gallagher Academy and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Alihodzic's high school teammate and fellow incoming freshman, Danny Gustafson, was a three-year letterwinner at goalkeeper for Mehlville, recording seven shutouts as a senior and a .817 save percentage. The other St. Louis product is Lucas Hake, a four-year varsity midfielder at Lafayette High School. Hake was a second-team all-conference honoree as a sophomore and played club soccer for the renowned Lou Fusz Soccer Club.
Finally, the Mavs plucked midfielder Giovanni Giattino out of Santa Cruz, Calif., and midfielder Houston Hoffman, a junior transfer from Northern Illinois and native of Sioux Falls, S.D. Giattino was a three-year center midfielder at Santa Cruz High School before focusing his senior year on club soccer with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's Santa Cruz Breakers. Giattino has started 19 games this season and has one goal and leads the team in assists. He posted 10 goals and 15 assists in his junior year at Santa Cruz. Hoffman played two seasons at Northern Illinois and scored one goal in 11 games. He helped the Huskies finish 15-6 in 2011 and reach the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Hoffman was a three-time first-team all-state selection at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls. He led Lincoln to a 37-game unbeaten streak and won two state championships. He totaled 42 goals and 28 assists in his prep career.
The incoming class joins 11 returning Mavericks, all of whom were regular starters last year. UNO will still be one of the youngest squads in the nation as they begin play in the The Summit League in 2012. The Mavs have no seniors on their roster and only six juniors.
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