West Hartford, CT - University of Hartford men's soccer coach Dan Gaspar announced the final additions to the 2008 roster. Gaspar introduced 13 new players who will join Pat Boucher and Howard Wong who were announced earlier this spring.
Joining the Hawks as freshman will be Jorge Rodriguez (East Hartford, CT), Mike Zazzara (Dedham, MA), Christos Agrapidis (Franklin Lakes, NJ), Tyler Cima (Frederick, MD), Luke Cintriniti (Niskayuna, NY), Lucas Ruffo Maria (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Andrew Liapis (Manalapan, NJ), Matt Hament (Richmond, VT), Lucas Dantas (Framingham, MA) and Scott St. Cyr. Also joining the team as junior transfers are Nenad Cudic (Novi Sad, Serbia), Cedomir Tomcic and Carlos Villa (Las Conchas, Guatemala). Rodriguez and Villa both signed National Letters of Intent to play at Hartford.
Cudic, Hament and Cintrini will all be vying for time between the pipes for Hartford, while Cima, Rodriguez and St. Cyr will join the Hawks on the defensive side of the pitch. The midfield will see the addition of four new players, Zazzarra, Maria, Dantas and Liapis. Rounding out the new players are Villa and Agrapidis, who join the Hawks top scorer (Andreas Blamo) returning at the forward position.
Cudic transfers to Hartford after two years at Auburn University. Last season he was named Southern States First Team All-Conference and to the NAIA Men's Soccer All-National Tournament Team. In 2006 he earned Southern States First Team All-Conference honors; NAIA Region 13 First Team All-Region honors and was named First Team NAIA All-American. Before coming to the United States, Cudic played at the youth level for both FC Vojvodina and FC Partizan. “Nenad is a proven winner and leader,” said Gaspar. “We expect he will carry on the tradition of outstanding goalkeepers here at Hartford.”
Villa comes to Hartford after two stellar years at San Jacinto College in Houston, TX. Originally from Guatemala, he started playing with the U-17 prior to enrollment at San Jacinto, and was later called into the U-20 National Team of Guatemala. While at San Jacinto, he played his freshman and sophomore year. He scored more than 20 goals in both 2006 and 2007 and earned All-Region honors twice as well as All-District recognition. Most recently, Villa participated with the U-23 National Team of Guatemala in the Pre-Olympic games held in Los Angeles and Nashville. “Carlos is an outstanding target player,” declared Gaspar. “He has experience scoring goals all the way up to the international level. We are certain his time at Hartford will bear similar results.”
Rodriguez is one of the state's top high school players. He started all four years as a center midfielder at East Hartford High School. He has been an All-State selection three years, and All-New England selection two years. He played for the Oakwood Soccer Club's US Youth Academy team coached by Ed Tremble. Rodriguez has also had the privilege to represent the United States at both the U15 and U17 levels. “Jorge is one of two players coming to Hartford from Oakwood (Pat Boucher),” commented Gaspar. “He is a player with excellent technique, and he has had an outstanding football education. Jorge will compete to make an immediate impact.”
St. Cyr is another top Connecticut high school player who has chosen Hartford. Like Rodriquez, St. Cyr was a three time All-State player, and a two time All-New England selection from Joel Barlow High School. He has played for South Central Premier, a US Youth Academy Club, for the last three years. “Scott is another example of a top high school player from Connecticut choosing Hartford,” remarked Gaspar. “He is a very mature player for his age, and he could easily develop into a leading figure in the future of our program.”
Zazzara was a four-year starter at Dedham High School. He was a three-time Bay State League All-Star, recording 17 goals and 37 assists in four years. He Played club soccer for Inter SC of Boston, South Shore United Blazers and played five years for MPS Boston Bulldogs. In the 2007 season, he was named Boston Bulldogs most valuable player, and captained the Bulldogs during the 2008 season. In 2008, he was invited to the Super Y League ODP National Camp in Cocoa Beach, Florida. “Mike has great athletic potential,” asserted Gaspar. “He's quick and agile, and is a very good attacking one-versus-one player. Mike will compete for time at outside midfield.”
Hament was the starting keeper for the club program Nordic Soccer for the last six years. Nordic has dominated Vermont club play, winning the state championship in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. He has also participated in ODP Florida National Pool Camp. In high school Hament was named First Team All-State and All-Metro team. “Matt is very agile,” stated Gaspar. “He has good feet, and will add to a cauldron of competition for the number one position.”
Citriniti played at Niskayuna High School for two years as the starter and made it to the New York State semifinals in his senior year. He was named a second team All-Star for Suburban Council in his junior and senior years. He also holds the school record for least goals allowed in a season in his junior year and was a Section II All-Star as a senior. Citriniti also played on the winning Empire State Games team in 2007 while allowing no goals in four games. He played his club soccer for Clifton Park Premier and made it to the New York State Cup quarterfinals in 2007. “Luke will add quality to the depth of our goalkeeping position,” remarked Gaspar. “He is a powerful athlete with very good presence.”
Maria comes to Hartford from the Pueri Domus School in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he won the Sao Paulo state championship in 2001. His team was also Brazilian National Champions in 2002. In 2005 He was named Pueri Domus High School Soccer Athlete of the Year. “Lucas brings a dynamic creative flair in typical Brazilian fashion to our midfield,” said Gaspar. “He will excite and entertain”
Liapis played four years of soccer at Christian Brothers Academy, which made it to the New Jersey State Finals in 2006 and 2007. He was named to the first team All-Conference, first team All-League, and third team All-State as a senior. He led the team in goals (15) and assists (8) as a senior. He played club soccer for the Jersey Knights Lancers, which was ranked as the fourth best soccer team in New Jersey by gotsoccer.com. “Andrew is a small but very crafty and very skillful player,” continued Gaspar. “Although he's small, he has the technique to do well in our program.”
Cima was a three year varsity soccer player at Urbana High School. He captained the team in his senior year, leading them to the state semifinals. He was named First Team All-MVAL Conference, Frederick News Post First Team and All-Area Gazette Newspaper. He played his club soccer with FC Frederick Premier and the Baltimore Bays. “Tyler is an outstanding competitor and athlete,” asserted Gaspar. “He will add depth to our defense.”
Agrapidis was a three year varsity soccer starter at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. He was a senior captain of the top ranked team in New Jersey, second in region and fifth nationally up until the first loss of the season in state semifinals. In his high school career, Agrapidis scored 41 goals and had 44 assists. He was named All-League and All-Bergen County. Agrapidis was a member of the Matchfit Academy team for three years and most recently with the TSF Academy. “Christos has succeeded in scoring goals at every level at which he has played,” said Gaspar. “His quality will bring depth to the forward position.”
