May 1, 2009

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova Men's Soccer program today announced the signing of five student-athletes to national letters of intent. This group joins two signees announced last month to form the core of an impressive class that is expected to added considerable skill to the Wildcats.

Inking letters this week were: midfielder Emerson Lawrence of Seton Hall (N.J.) Prep; midfielder William McGuiness of Wyoming Valley High School; forward Nick Ramirez of Palmer Trinity (Fla.) High School; midfielder/forward Alec Weiss of Harriton High School, and defender Ryan Whalen of Ridge High School. They join Kyle Soroka and Kyle McCarthy, a pair of versatile defenders whose signings were announced in March.

"We are very happy about the class of 2009," stated head soccer coach Tom Carlin. "We think this is one of the best classes in the history of our program and among the nation's finest. We have two players with national team/pool experience in Nick Ramirez and Kyle Soroka and five of the seven in this group who compete within the USSF Academy program.

"We have added some serious talent to our 2009 squad and look forward to welcoming them into the Villanova Men's Soccer Family."

Here is a thumbnail bio of each of the seven newcomers, all of whom will report for pre-season workouts in August:

EMERSON LAWRENCE

Height: 6-0; Weight: 185

High School: Seton Hall Prep

Club: PDA Cruyff

CLUB: Captain in 2008.

Team Ranked No. 1 in Nation according to gotsoccer.com

1st Region 1 premier league 2008

1st Region 1 playoffs 2008

State cup champion 2008

1st Disney College Showcase 2008

1st Potomac Showcase 2008

High School:

-3 Years Varsity

-3 years varsity starter

-Over 3 varsity years had 16 goals and 36 assists at CM.

Freshman Year:

MVP of Freshman team

Captain

16 Goals 8 Assists

Sophomore Year

Pre-season Top 5 Sophomores to watch list

Third team County & Conference

-Second team conference & County

-Lead team to the #1 team in the state, #1 team in the region, and #6 in the nation.

-After winning states I was the only junior from SHP to appear in the January edition of Rise magazine.

Senior Year

-Pre season player to watch

-First team County, Conference, and State.

-MVP during senior year

ODP: NJ ODP 06/07

Carlin on Lawrence: "Emmo's technical ability will help us throughout the midfield in 2009. He is very cool and calm under pressure and should be able to immediately impact our program. His uncanny ability to make plays while still remaining a defensive presence will help solidify our defensive core."

KYLE McCARTHY

Height: 6-3; Weight: 160

High School: Ridge High School

Club Team: PDA U-18 Academy

CLUB: 2008 NJ State Cup Champions, 2008 Region 1 League Champions

HIGH SCHOOL: 4 year varsity player, captain junior and senior year at Ridge High School

Carlin on McCarthy: "Kyle was Mr. Consistency" through the recruiting process," said Carlin. "He led a very talented PDA team against the top club teams in the nation and the bigger the game, the more effective he became on the field. His size, athleticism and ability to never shy away from a tackle are qualities that immediately caught our eye. He is also a very good passer of the ball and calm under pressure."

Bill McGuiness

Height: 5-10; Weight: 150 lbs

Club Team- LDC United (City Islanders Academy - Super Y team)

High School: Wyoming Valley West High School

Honors: Times Leader Best and Brightest Finalist

National Honor Society Member

High School Heisman Finalist

Top 5% of graduating class

Accomplishments: Times Leader High School Soccer Player of the Year

10th, 11th, 12th grade Wyoming Valley Conference First Team All Star

Times Leader First Team All Star (10, 11, 12)

Citizen Voice First Team All Star (10, 11, 12)

High School Team Captain (11, 12)

Carlin on McGuiness: "Billy was the MVP or our 2008 Villanova Boy's Soccer Camp. His ability to impact the game with his play-making ability and great engine will make him a very valuable part of our squad. Billy's hard working nature and versatility will help him throughout his career.

NICK RAMIREZ

Height: 5-11; Weight: 160

Club: Miami FC Kendall Academy

High School: Palmer Trinity

Puerto Rican National Team

ODP Regional Team

Top Goal Scorer in High School History

All County Selection

Carlin on Ramirez: "Nick is a hardworking, attacking player who has scored a lot of goals throughout his high school and club career. His experience with the Puerto Rican national team will help him with the transition to college soccer. Nick has all the tools to be a very good four year player for our squad and within the BIG EAST Conference."

KYLE SOROKA

Height: 6-0; Weight: 160

Club: FC Delco Academy

High School: Neshaminy High School

Honors and Accomplishments:

~High School:

Suburban One League National 2nd Team (Fresh and Soph)

Suburban One League National 1st Team (Junior and Senior)

Second Team Golden Team (Junior)

Second Team Southeastern PA (Junior)

First Team Golden Team (Senior)

First Team Southeastern PA (Senior)

2006 District One Champions

2005, 2006, 2008 State Semi-Finalists

~Club Soccer:

National Finalists 2006

National 3rd Place 2007 2008

Regional Champions 2004 2006 2007 2008

FC Delco Capt 2005 2006 2007 2008

~ODP:

United States National Pool 2004

Region 1 Pool 2004 2005

State Team 2003 2004 2005

Carlin on Soroka: "Kyle should make an immediate impact to our 2009 team," noted Carlin. "His ability to consistently serve a very dangerous long ball from the flank makes him quite an attacking threat. His size, athleticism and defensive toughness are also components that will be useful for him as he figures out the outside back position. I coached Kyle at the ODP and Academy level and his inner drive to continually improve will help him as he prepares to make the transition from club to college."

ALEC WEISS

Height: 6-1; Weight: 150

Club: FC Delco

High School: Harriton High School

CLUB:

6x EPYSA State Champion

5x Region One Champion

2006 National Finalist

2007 & 2008 3rd place Nationals

ODP State Team 4 Years

High School:

Team Captain 2007, 2008

Team MVP 2008

Most Valuable Offensive Player 2007

1st Team All Central League

1st Team All Main Line Times

Matthew G. Greenberg Leadership Award

Doc Copland Award for Spirit , Loyalty and Dedication

Graduating w/ 8 Varsity letters (Soccer and Track & Field)

2008 Track & Field District One Qualifier in High Jump (6' 4") and 200 meters (22.7)

Carlin on Weiss: "Alec is a tremendous athlete and has great separation speed. His physical attributes will be a tremendous asset to our program. Alex has an attacking mindset and can play the outside midfield and forward position. Alec was a two-sport athlete in high school, competing in soccer and track and field."

RYAN WHALEN

Height: 5-11 ½; Weight 165

Ridge High School

PDA U18 Academy

• HIGH SCHOOL: 4 year Varsity Starter

• Captain '08

• Represented Ridge High Soccer at the Leadership Counsel '08;

• Courier News Player of the Week '08;

• 2x Star Ledger Player to Watch '08'

• Leading Scorer with 12 Goals for '08 season

• 1st Team All Conference '08, '07

• 1st Team All County '08;

• 1st Team All Area '08;

• 2nd Team North 2 Group 4 '08

• The Hildebrand Cup '08 for Scholarship, Citizenship and Teamwork;

• All State NJ Soccer Coaches Award '07, '08

• Senior North All Star Team

• Honorable Mention Central Jersey Section 1 '07

• Booster Club Award '08; '07; '06

• MVP '06

• Basketball honors:

• 4 Year Varsity point Guard. 3 year starter as primary point guard

• Team leader in Assists '08; '07

• First and Second Team All Conference Honors;

• First and Second Team All County Honors

• Honorable Mention All Area '08

• Booster Club Award '08; '07; '06

• MVP of the 2008 season

• Conference Champions for 2 years/ first time in 30 years at Ridge

• 2 years Class Senator

• '08 Senior Class Treasurer

• Voted Best Athlete in class of '09

• Also play tennis at a competitive level.

• Member of the National Society of High School Scholars.

Carlin on Whelan: "Ryan is a tremendous athlete. He was an all-conference player in both soccer and basketball in high school. As he continues to focus all of his time and energy to soccer, we feel he will develop into a top defender in the BIG EAST Conference. His experience with the PDA Academy team over the summer will be extremely beneficial to him."