Riverdale, NY (February 21, 2008) -- Manhattan College men's soccer head coach Michael Swanwick announced today the signing of a six-member recruiting class that will be joining the Jaspers for the 2008 fall season.
Incoming freshmen joining Manhattan in the fall include: Christopher Holihan (Tappan, N.Y./Tappan Zee H.S.); Michael Gallo (Westwood, N.J./St. Joseph Regional H.S.); Deia Nassar (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull H.S.) and Anthony Florez (Yonkers, N.Y./Iona Prep). Incoming transfers will be Nicholas Patrikis (Nanuet/Nanuet H.S.), who transfers from Northeastern University, and Fernando Segares (San Jose, Costa Rica), who transfers from Globe Institute of Technology.
“Our staff's recruiting class is an excellent mix of incoming freshmen and transfers, all of whom are capable of starting right away and adding depth to our existing squad," said Coach Swanwick. "I am more than confident that this outstanding group of recruits will allow Manhattan College soccer to get to the next level both inside and outside the MAAC."
Here is the background of each of the incoming freshmen:
Christopher Holihan (defender/midfielder):
Holihan, a four-year starter at Tappan Zee H.S., was one of the top defenders in Section 1 of New York State and during his high school career he was named All Section, All-County and All League. Holihan plays club soccer for the FC Westchester ?90s, one of the top-ranked teams in New York State and a team that represented the region at the Super Y League North American Finals in 2007 and 2005. While playing for FC Westchester, Holihan was selected to the 2007 Super Y League Olympic Development Program (ODP) Regional Team.
Michael Gallo (midfielder/striker):
Gallo, a three-year starter at Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., was one of his team's leading goal scorers during his high school career. As a high school senior, he earned Second Team All-County and Second Team All-State honors, as well as being selected First Team All League in the NNJIL. He played club soccer for the Parsippany Revolution, one of the top-ranked teams in New Jersey. That squad was the Super Y League Mid-Atlantic Champions in 2007 and 2006 and made it to the semi-finals of the Super Y League North American Finals in 2007. The team also won the 2007 title at the prestigious Potomac Memorial Day College Showcase in Maryland.
Deia Nassar (striker/midfielder):
Nassar was a three-year starter on the Trumbull H.S. team. As a junior, he led the team in assists with 10 and as a senior captain he led the team in both goals and assists, with 14 and 10, respectively. His senior year, he was named All-State, All-Connecticut Post First Team, All-FCIAC First Team and he was named MVP of the Senior Bowl. Finished high school career third all time in points at Trumbull. He played club soccer for Yankee United of Connecticut, which was the 2007 Connecticut State Cup champion and participated this past December at the prestigious Disney Showcase. At that event, Nassar was one of the age group's top scorers.
Anthony Florez (striker/midfielder):
Florez, who was injured his senior year of high school, was a starter his junior and sophomore years at Iona Prep in New Rochelle and was the team's team's top midfielder and was one of the top players in the CHSAA. He is a teammate of Holihan's on the FC Westchester ?90s, one of the top-ranked teams in New York State and a team that represented the region at the Super Y League North American Finals in 2007 and 2005.
Here is the background on the incoming transfers:
Nicholas Patrikis (midfielder):
Patrikis, while at Northeastern, played in all of the Huskie's games his freshman and sophomore years. Prior to Northeastern, he was an All-County and All-Section performer at Nanuet H.S. He was also an Eastern NY Olympic Development Program team starter for five years (the last year of which he played for Coach Swanwick) and was named to the USYSA Region 1 ODP pool in 2004. Patrikis played club soccer for the FC Westchester 87s, a top-ranked team in Eastern New York, as well as for the New Rochelle Raiders, a team that won the ENYYSA State Cup for four consecutive years.
Fernando Segares (defender/midfielder):
Segares was a two-year starter at Globe Institute of Technology, a Division 1 Junior College. During his senior year at Globe, he was the team's captain and recorded five goals and nine assists while earning All-American Academic team honors. He won those honors his freshman year, as well, and also tallied four goals and six assists. Prior to coming to the United States from Costa Rica, his high school team in that country won four national private school championships. He also played for five years for the youth team of Saprissa, the top soccer club in Costa Rica and one of the top clubs in Central America. With Saprissa, he won four national championships and one international cup. He also played for and captained the Brujas F.C. U-18 team. His brother is Gonzalo Segares, who was an All-American soccer player and Hermann Trophy finalist at Virginia Commonwealth University and who now plays for the Costa Rican National Team and is a starting defender for the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.
