The Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team and head coach Roy Fink have announced the addition of a 10-player recruiting class, which will join the team this fall. Shawn Allien, Bernard Broni , Matthew Camara, Jahkeem Hunt, Noam Kolakofsky , Niklas Laudahn, Jacob Maddox, Joseph Morehead, Jadel Poon-Lewis and Nate Presti will all be Ravens for the first time during the 2016 campaign.
A four-year letterwinner at Medford (Mass.) High School, Allien was an All-League selection as a senior, when he served as a team captain and helped guide the squad to a conference title. He was voted by his teammates as the team’s Unsung Player Award recipient as a junior and its Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Expected to see time on the backline or in the midfield for the Ravens, Allien has played at the club level with GPS North Shore, which is making an eight-day trip to Germany this summer to train alongside IFX Nürnberg.
Also a four-year letterwinner, Broni split his high school career between Worcester (Mass.) South High School and Nipmuc Regional High School (Mass.). A Central Massachusetts All-Star selection, he led his team in assists as both a junior and a senior and helped lead the squad to a pair of district final appearances. A midfielder, Broni played at the club level for GPS Soccer.
One of two goalkeepers in the recruiting class, Camara was a four-year starter at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School (Mass.), where he backstopped the team to four straight appearances in the state tournament and earned All-Star honors as a senior. At the club level, he was a five-year captain with Bayside FC Bolts. During Camara’s time with Bayside, the club captured titles at the Disney Showcase, Needham Cup and Scorpion Bowl, among others.
A member of the U20 National Team in his native Bermuda, Hunt played high school soccer stateside, for the Wilbraham (Mass.) & Monson Academy. A four-year starter, he earned both All-State First Team and All-League recognition as both a junior and a senior. The Ravens expect Hunt to play as a forward.
Previously a member of Israel’s U17 National Team, Kolakofsky is a winger who spent the previous eight years playing with Hapoel Haifa. He was the team’s top scorer on four occasions, helped the squad to one national championship in his native Israel and advanced to the final of the U19 Israeli National Youth Cup.
Laudahn made more than 40 appearances in the highest division of German youth soccer, where he spent time with both FC Mönchengladbach and Rot-Weiss Essen. A starter for both squads, he has played as both a midfielder and a center back, and could see time at either position with the crimson and grey.
A midfielder, Maddox has been playing in the US Developmental Academy League since his sophomore year of high school. At the club level, he has played most recently for the Boston Bolts.
A four-year starter and two-time captain at Greater New Bedford (Mass.) Regional Vocational Technical High School, Morehead was selected as Player of the Year by the Standard Times as a senior, capping a decorated high school career. An offensively-minded midfielder, he was a two-time All-State selection, three-time Eastern Massachusetts All-Star and three-time All-League pick, in addition to earning Boston Herald All-Scholastic honors as a senior. Morehead has played at the club level for Bayside FC.
Recently selected to the Trinidad & Tobago U20 National Team for June’s round of U20 World Cup qualification, Poon-Lewis was a two-time captain while representing his school at the highest level in his native country. A goalkeeper, he was an All-Star selection in 2015, while guiding the squad to a mid-table finish in the country’s premier division.
A four-year letterwinner at Bedford (Mass.) High School, Presti will roam the midfield for the Ravens. A two-time All-League selection, he served as a team captain as a senior. Playing at the club level for Forza Red Thunder, Presti plans to major in health sciences at Franklin Pierce, with an eye towards becoming a physical therapist.