LOUIS CANCASCI, 2006 Twinsburg High School graduate, will join the men's soccer team at Bluffton in the fall. He is a four-year letterwinner at Twinsburg and three-year starter. Playing in the midfield, Louis accumulated eight goals and 19 assists in his high school career. In his senior season, he was named All-Western Reserve Conference while helping his team to the league championship. Louis also participated on club teams with Bedford United, Twinsburg AC, Emerald and Cleveland Blues, winning multiple indoor championships. "I'm excited about Louis' choice to attend Bluffton. His creativity will be a welcome addition to our attack," says coach Smucker. His experience will add a great deal to the midfield immediately as a freshman.
MICHAEL FRENCH, a goalkeeper from Reading High School, has also committed to Bluffton University to play for the Beavers this fall. "We feel that Michael will add some much needed depth to our goalkeeper position this fall. He has a positive attitude and we look forward to seeing him develop."
PATRICK JACKSON, a midfielder from Lake High School will attend Bluffton this fall. Patrick was honored with first team status in the Federal League, first team All-District and Lake Offensive Player of the Year in his senior year. That followed a junior year in which he was named to the second team in the Federal League and honorable mention in the District. Patrick's club participation includes 3-4 years with United FC in North Canton and most recently two seasons with Greater Akron Premier (GAP). As a student, Patrick excelled in the classroom as well as on the field, sporting a 3.87 cumulative GPA as a member of the Honor Roll and National Honor Society. Ranked 23rd in his class, he also participates in Spanish Club and officiates in local youth soccer venues. "I'm pleased that Patrick has made this decision. His positive leadership and his technical ability will be valuable to our team in the upcoming season," stated Coach Smucker.
ANDREW LAGUNA, an Honor Roll student and two year varsity captain from Living Word Christian School in Stryker, Ohio, will be joining the Beavers this fall. Andrew has played in all phases of the game but primarily as a midfielder or forward while participating with club soccer in Indiana and specifically with Indiana Tech.
ANDREW MARTIN, 2006 graduate of North Allegheny High School, participated on his school's varsity team his junior and senior years, helping his team advance to the second round of the Pennsylvania state playoffs. In his senior year, he was named honorable mention to the All-Section team. Additional soccer participation includes play with Northern Steel Select Soccer Club (USClub Soccer Division I - National Champions-2003) and North Allegheny Soccer Club for six years. Andrew also participated in both paid and volunteer status at a local youth soccer training facility (Quickskills) for the past five years. Rounding out his soccer background, Andrew earned his USSF "E" coaching license in December of 2005. Coach Smucker says of Andrew, "We anticipate Andy to be a stabilizing presence in the back for us. He is a solid athlete and makes good decisions with the ball"
DERRICK SCOVANNER, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy 2006 graduate, was a member of the CHCA varsity squads both his junior and senior years. Those teams enjoyed deep runs into the state tournament going as far as state runner-up his junior year. Derrick was honored as Second team All-MVC (Miami Valley Conference) in his senior year and also honorable mention to the All-City Team (Cincinnati). It's expected that he will bolster the back line with his determined play and swift attacks from a supporting position.
JUSTIN SHEARER, a defender from Loudonville High School is a Merit/Honor Roll student maintaining a 3.0 GPA. He is also active in varsity track, band and choir in addition to foreign language and drama clubs. While lettering for three years at Loudonville, he started as a central defender his junior and senior years earning the "Mr. Hustle" award in his final season. Beyond school recognition, Justin was named to the conference second team on defense (Wayne County Athletic League) while helping his team to a 14-3-1 final record. Justin is likely to add a great deal of depth to the defensive third of the field in his first year at Bluffton.
ROBERT WEILBACHER, another 2006 Marion-Franklin graduate, was named Player of the Year and first team All-City (Columbus). Robert Weilbacher served as captain his sophomore and junior seasons on varsity and was named MVP in both his junior and senior years. As quoted by Marion-Franklin's coach, "[Robert] always kept his head up and led the team with goals and helped others with techniques to improve their game."
ROBERT JOHNSON, a 2006 Marion-Franklin graduate, was named to the district 2nd team, 2nd team All-City (Columbus), and honorable mention All-City Defense. Team honors in his senior season at Marion-Franklin include team captain, Sportsmanship Award, and Player of the Year. Robert's coach states, "As a captain, he brought great leadership throughout games to motivate people to go for the win, and also never give up. He is an excellent defender, showed a lot of hustle and always amped up the team."
BRANDON KINDELL, a Kenton High School graduate and four-year starter and letterwinner, will bring versatility to the team that will serve him as he seeks to gain experience immediately in his freshman year. He earned Defensive Player of the Year his junior year and MVP his senior year at Kenton. Brandon was twice named to the first team in the Western Buckeye League and earned second and first team All-District honors his junior and senior years respectively. In addition to playing for his high school soccer team, Brandon also participated in band, choir, show choir, track and swimming. He also played three years of club soccer with Marysville Elite FC. His athleticism will provide him the opportunity to play virtually anywhere on the field as he adjusts to college soccer.
JOSH RIEDMAIER, 2006 Old Fort High School forward, has chosen to attend Bluffton University in the fall after leading his team as the offensive MVP. Other honors include being selected to the second team in the North Central Ohio Soccer Association (NCOSA), honorable mention in the Midland Suburban Soccer League (MSSL) and honorable mention in the district while leading his Old Fort team in goals with 17. In addition to his high school team, Josh participated on club teams with Fremont Emeralds and has experience officiating youth soccer games. Coach Smucker states, "Josh has a knack for being in the right place to finish attempts on goal and will add greatly to the depth in our attacking third."
CYRUS WEIGAND, a 2004 graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, will transfer from Akron University and is expected to add to the growing depth in the Bluffton University midfield. Cyrus played varsity soccer at St. Vincent-St. Mary his junior and senior seasons, playing primarily in the midfield and attacking positions. At 6'1'' and 170 pounds, he also gained experience playing for the German Family Society club team in Akron, Ohio. His competitive spirit and added size will be a welcomed addition.
DANIEL TINCH , a 6'2", 175 lb. defensive player from Madison High School in Middletown, Ohio, has elected to join the incoming class of soccer players at Bluffton University. Honors that Daniel has earned during four years as a starter for Madison's varsity soccer program include honorable mention in the Southwestern Buckeye League (SWBL) his sophomore year, second team SWBL and honorable mention All-Miami Valley his junior year, and first team SWBL, first team All-District, second team All-Miami Valley, Middletown Christian All-Tournament Team, and Div. III All-Star Team in his senior year. Daniel led his team as a co-captain his junior and senior years scoring 10 goals, 12 assists and seven goals, 11 assists respectively. In his senior season, he helped guide his high school team to an SWBL championship. He also participated with the Ohio Galaxy club system out of the Dayton area. Additionally, Daniel was a member of the National Honor Society and a Buckeye Boys State delegate while ranking 22nd in his graduating class of 133. Daniel brings experience and strength to the back line with his ability to track and tackle opponents.
JORDAN SWEITZER, a 2006 graduate of Wayside Christian School in Bucyrus, Ohio, will add his soccer ability to the Bluffton men's team in the fall. Jordan's arrival will add depth to a growing class of incoming players.
Recruit bio's are supplied by the student athlete, their family, and coaches. Any inaccuracies will be corrected if brought to our attention.
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