Every couple of weeks, NewYorkRedBulls.com will compile a list of standout performances by Red Bulls Academy products in college to keep updated on the latest player news.
The 2015 college soccer season is underway with most teams having a few matches under their belts. The following is a list of Academy products with notable performances in the opening weeks of the 2015 college soccer season:
Akron: Adam Najem* (MID) – Scored the game-winning goal against formerly No. 7 Georgetown, a 1-0 win. Scored in the next match against Maryland, a 3-2 win for Akron. Tallied his third goal of the season to tie the match last weekend vs. Saint Louis on a 25-yard free kick en route to a win, 3-2.
Bucknell: Chris Thorsheim* (DEF/MID) – Recorded one goal and an assist in season opening win vs. La Salle, then started and played 88 minutes in a loss to No. 15 Syracuse, 1-0 OT. Last weekend, Thorsheim scored his second goal of the season and tallied two assists against Seton Hall, a 4-0 victory.
Columbia: Frederick Elliot (FWD), Antonio Matarazzo (MID) – Frederick Elliot scored the game-winning goal in the season opener against UMASS, 1-0. Antonio Matarazzo also started in the match and recorded three shots in the game. Elliot provided the game-winning assist last weekend against No. 18 Providence in double-overtime, 2-1.
No. 25 Georgetown: Brandon Allen* (FWD), Alex Muyl (FWD), Arun Basuljevic (MID/FWD), Christopher Lema (MID), Kyle Zajec (MID) – In the second match of the season, all five Academy products featured together for the first time this season in a loss vs. University of South Florida, 2-0. Georgetown defeated No. 1 UCLA, 3-1. Basuljevic had one goal in the match. Last weekend against Radford, Muyl and Allen both recorded two goals and one assist while Basuljevic also grabbed an assist in a 5-2 win.
Holy Cross: Diego Ceron (DEF) – Started in opener vs. Hartford and helped maintain a shutout, 0-0. Held No. 18 Providence to one goal in a draw, 1-1 OT 2. Last Friday, Ceron recorded two assists and helped maintain a clean sheet vs. Sacred Heart en route to a 5-0 win.
Marist: Cameron Harr (FWD) – Scored a goal in the opening match vs. Saint Joseph’s, a 3-2 victory for Marist. Cameron recorded five shots and two shots on goal. He also started the next game, a 2-1 loss to New Hampshire. Last weekend, Harr scored his second goal of the season, a game-winning goal against Binghamton, 1-0. This week, Harr was named MAAC Rookie of The Week.
No. 4 Maryland: Mael Corboz (MID) – Corboz is enjoying a three-game point streak. He started and tallied an assist in a win vs. St. John’s, 4-0. The midfielder scored his first goal of the season against No. 1 UCLA, a 2-1 win for the Terps. Maryland lost to Akron, 3-2, but Corboz supplied both assists in the loss. Faced Academy products Evan Louro, Billy Stevens, Marcello Borges and the Michigan Wolverines last Friday, a scoreless draw, and provided the game-winning assist in the 84th minute against Navy on Monday. Corboz also featured in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s 2016 MLS SuperDraft Preview.
Michigan: Evan Louro (GK), Billy Stevens (DEF), Marcello Borges (DEF) – Michigan lost opener to No. 6 Creighton, 1-0. Louro allowed one goal and made seven saves in the match. Stevens started and played 77 minutes, while NYRB II’s Borges made his regular season debut as a substitute. Borges played 55 minutes and recorded one shot on goal. Michigan rebounded with a win vs. West Virginia, 3-1. Louro made four saves, Borges started and played 61 minutes, and Stevens tallied an assist. All three players played in a double-overtime victory against Niagra, 2-1. Borges tallied his first assist of the season to tie the match in the 71st minute. Against Mael Corboz’s No. 4 Maryland, Louro made seven saves while Borges and Stevens held the Terps maintain a clean sheet in a scoreless draw.
Northeastern: Andrew Lombard (DEF), Chris Flores (MID) – Andrew Lombard, who was recently called up to the U.S. U-20 National Team, started the season opener against Temple, a 1-1 draw. Flores also started and recorded one assist in the match. Both players started and played out a scoreless draw last weekend vs. Fairfield.
Rutgers: Brandon Tetro (DEF/MID), Erik Sa (MID) – Tetro started on defense and Erik Sa recorded two assists in the opening match of the season, a draw vs. Siena, 2-2.
Seton Hall: Eric Lagg (MID) – Started the Pirates’ opening match vs. College of Charleston, a 3-1 loss, then scored SHU’s lone goal vs. Furman in a draw, 1-1. He played 39 minutes in second game against Furman.
Siena: Alex Tejera (FWD) – Started and played the full 90 minutes vs. Rutgers, earning one assist in the opening loss, 4-2. Tejera then started and played 101 minutes vs. Hartford, a 1-1 draw. He recorded three shots and two shots on goal. Tejera earned his second assist in a 107 minute performance in a draw vs. New Hampshire, 3-3.
Tulsa: Juan Sanchez (FWD) – NYRB II’s Sanchez started his first match for Tulsa vs. Saint Louis, a 1-0 loss in 2 OT. He finished with two shots, and one on goal. In the team’s second match, Sanchez made his second start and tallied his first assist in a win vs. Sacramento State, 2-1. He started and played 75 minutes in a draw vs. Derrick Etienne’s Virginia, 1-1 OT 2. Sanchez scored his first collegiate goal and earned an assist in a win against Oral Roberts, 6-2. Last weekend, the forward scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Portland in the 97th minute, a 3-2 win for Tulsa.
Villanova: Sean Sheridan (MID) – Sheridan started and played 80 minutes in opening win vs. University of Albany, 3-0. The midfielder grabbed a brace, scoring two goals in Villanova’s second win of the season vs. Drexel, 4-3. Via Villanova.com, Sheridan Savors Wildcats’ Spirit and Resolve.
No. 5 Virginia: Scott Thomsen (DEF), Malcolm Dixon (DEF), Derrick Etienne (FWD), Wesley Wade (FWD) – Scott Thomsen and Malcolm Dixon started the opening game of the season and preserved a shutout vs. No. 18 UNC Charlotte, 1-0. NYRB II’s Derrick Etienne played his first regular season in a 26 minute substitute appearance. Against Juan Sanchez’s Tulsa, Etienne started and played 110 minutes in draw, 1-1 OT 2. Dixon started also started and Wesley Wade made a 10 minute substitute appearance.
No. 14 Wake Forest: Kevin Politz (DEF), Steven Echevarria (MID) – Politz scored, thanks to an assist from fellow RBNY Academy product Echevarria, in a win vs. Florida International University, 3-2. Politz started and played the full 90 minutes while Echevarria played 36 minutes as a substitute. Politz started and played full 90 minutes in opening shutout win vs. Santa Clara, 1-0. Politz started and helped preserve back-to-back shutouts against Florida Gulf Coast, 1-0, and UNC Asheville, 5-0. Echevarria was a substitute against FGC and started against UNC Asheville. Echevarria scored his first goal of the season last weekend against Pittsburgh, a 4-0 win.
*MAC Hermann Watch List
