West Hartford, CT - University of Hartford men's soccer coach Dan Gaspar announced one more addition to the team's 2009 roster. James Stamopoulos has signed an Acceptance of Admission Agreement at Hartford, and will enter the program's roster as a true freshman, joining Kevin Lewis and Ben Poppen who were announced earlier this spring.
Stamopoulos comes to Hartford from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of Toronto Futbol Club's Academy team, a widely considered role model organization in the development of youth soccer players. Under the direction of head coach Jason Bent, Toronto FC went 1-1-1 in the prestigious Dallas Cup Supergroup held in Dallas, TX this past spring, where they drew with Tigres (Mexico), and defeated AC Milan before falling to Manchester City.
Prior to his stint with Toronto FC, Stamopoulos was a full member of the Canadian U16 National Team in 2007. In 2006, He was invited to the Canadian U15 National Team training camp in Bradenton, FL, and in 2005, Stamopoulos won the Ontario Cup, and eventually National Club Championship, with his former club team Erin Mills.
“James is one of the top prospects coming out of Canada,” remarked Gaspar. “He plays for the best academy team in Canada, and he has experience all the way up to the international level. James is an exciting, fast and very skillful attacking player who will make an immediate impact in our conference.”
The men's soccer team did not lose any players to graduation from a team that closed out the 2008 regular season ranked fifth in the conference standings with an overall record of 7-8-3, including a 3-4-1 record in the conference. For the second-straight season, the Hawks earned a berth to the America East Championship, where they dropped a 3-1 decision to the fourth-seeded Catamounts of Vermont in the quarterfinals held in Burlington. Hartford returns NSCAA All-Northeast Third Team and America East First Team selection Carlos Villa to the 2009 roster. Villa led the 2008 squad with 27 points, including a team- and conference-high 12 goals.
