Men's Soccer Welcomes Nine Newcomers for 2017

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida men's soccer program and Head Coach Derek Marinatos announced the addition of nine new Ospreys who recently signed national letter-of-intents to play for UNF.

Since the arrival of Marinatos in 2011, the Ospreys have annually added top tier talent which led to the program's first ever NCAA Tournament berth and Atlantic Sun Conference Championship in 2015 followed by a second ASUN regular season crown in 2016, including consecutive undefeated conference regular seasons. The North Florida coaching staff has also garnered the ASUN Coaching Staff of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons.

"This 2017 class is filled with a combination of freshman and transfers that embody the type of student-athlete we recruit to our ASUN championship caliber program at North Florida," said Marinatos. "These student-athletes fit our culture and playing style. It is also one of the most decorated incoming classes academically we have recruited to date. Equally as important, the class effectively addresses some key needs by position both defensively and offensively from last year's graduating class. Some of the young players we added have incredible potential and versatility. Having back-to-back undefeated conference seasons and winning championships in both 2015 & 2016, we remain very hungry to continue our recent trend as well as continuing to grow the program for the seventh straight year."

2017 Signing Class
NICK BURGESS – Melbourne, Fla. (West Shore High School)
Position: D
Ht: 6-3
Club Team: Brevard Soccer Alliance

Notes: Played three years for club team helping them to the U17 State Cup title… Club team advanced to regional play and finished 3rd in the SRPL… Selected to the ODP Region 3 squad for three consecutive seasons… Led prep squad to 3 district titles, a regional championship and most recently a 2017 State Championship.

Coach's Quote: "Nicholas is a strong, physical center back. He has excellent feet and is deceptively agile with very good technical ability for a bigger guy. He is also very competitive and physically tough, and even capable of playing forward and scoring goals as a striker at a high level, as he helped lead his team to a FL State Cup Championship. He was also consistently a member of the Region III Region Team. Academically, he is a UNF Presidential scholar."
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LJ ESTES – Pensacola, Fla. (J.M. Tate High School)
Position: D/MF
Ht: 6-2
Club Team: Gulf Coast Texans

Notes: Played eight years with club program helping squad to 2 Disney Showcase titles along with winning the Dallas Cup and the NPL Championship… Member of the Florida State ODP… Named All-Area first-team and part of the USL National Pool… Three-year team captain of his prep team earning Offensive MVP, Golden Boot (twice) and Team MVP during his career… Tallied 66 goals and 33 assists during his high school career highlighted by a 38 goal, 16 assist performance as a senior.

Coach's Quote: "LJ is another player we identified through our summer elite camp that has an incredible upside and is very versatile. He is very technical and athletic and has good field awareness as well as being a good communicator on the field. He is a very solid defender that can play centrally or wide and capable of playing anywhere in the midfield and has even been used as a striker."
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PADRAIC GILLEY – Germantown, Tenn. (Houston High School)
Position: GK
Ht: 6-3
Club Team: 98 Lobos Rush Premier

Notes: Played eight seasons with club helping lead them to two State Championships (2012, 2015), three Region 3 Championships (2013, 2015, 2016) along with a National finals appearance in 2012, USYS National League champs twice (2014, 2015) and 2014 USYS National Championship participant... Member of Tennessee ODP from 2012-15… Listed as Player to Watch at Disney National League (2014)… Prep team earned 2015 State Championship and advanced to State semifinals in 2016… Prep and club teammate with fellow UNF signee Collin Scott.

Coach's Quote: "We evaluated a lot of goalkeepers and none had the upside, physical tools, and academic background that Padraic possessed. He is a good communicator and has excellent size and is clean technically. He is also already a very good shot stopper with incredible range through his 6'3" frame. He is a UNF Presidential Scholar and comes in with the highest academic pedigree of any student-athlete we have ever recruited to our program."
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BLAKE SAMS – Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood High School)
Position: MF
Ht: 5-11
Club Team: Nashville FC

Notes: Spent 10 years playing with club program helping them to an RPL Championship, two State titles and a two other state final appearances… A five-year ODP player in Tennessee and trained two seasons with Nashville FC UPSL squad… Picked for Southeast All-Star team that played in Jamaica… Four-year varsity letterwinner at Ravenwood leading team to state finals (2016) and state semifinals (2015) along with back-to-back sectional championships.

Coach's Quote: "Blake is a player we identified through both our summer camps and ID camps. He can play out wide and centrally in the midfield, capable of impacting both sides of the ball. Blake has very good speed and showed continuous development as a player at every step in the recruiting process. He is also incredibly competitive and hardworking both on and off the field. "
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COLLIN SCOTT – Germantown, Tenn. (Houston High School)
Position: MF
Ht: 5-11
Club Team: 98 Lobos Rush Premier

Notes: Spent 10 years playing with club program leading them to three State Championships and a Regional finals appearance… Club team finished 3rd in National League and advanced to National Championship… Served as team captain of club squad for six seasons… Three-time All-Metro honoree as a prep player helping guide Mustangs to a state title and two district championships… Prep and club teammate with fellow UNF signee Padraic Gilley.

Coach's Quote: "Collin is a player we identified at Disney. He has a very high soccer IQ and with physical attributes that give him the ability to play multiple positions in the midfield, both centrally, as well as wide and up front as a striker. He is left-footed, an excellent passer, and capable of dictating tempo in the midfield. He is also good in the air and capable of creating both assists and goals in an attacking role."
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TAWAN SELES – Sau Paulo, Brazil (Cowley County CC)
Position: D
Ht: 5-10

Notes: Twice named All-Jayhawk Conference defender during his career at Cowley County CC. Helped Tigers to a 10-4 overall record in 2016.

Coach's Quote: "Tawan is a two-time all-conference defender capable of playing anywhere on the back line, having played both outside back and center back. He is an impressive 1 vs. 1 defender that plays with a physicality that is intimidating and relishes dominating 1 vs 1 battles against opponents. He also possesses good technical ability and passing range. In Tawan, we are getting a very hungry, experienced player eager to make an immediate impact on our back line."
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HENRIK WELLE – Oslo, Norway (Ullern Videregaaende Skole)
Position: D
Ht: 5-11
Club Team: Lyn Toppfotball

Notes: Played four seasons with his club squad…. Started the most games for Lyn U19 squad in 2016… Earned Player of the Year for the Lyn U19 team helping them a 3rd place finish in the Norway Cup

Coach's Quote: "Henrik is very technical, fast defender with exceptional covering speed and passing range. He is another very strong 1 vs 1 defender that is capable of playing both as a wing-back and center back. He is captain of his U-19 team and was also player of the year. He played in reserve matches with his club Lyn and has trained with the first team as well giving him good experience against older players. We expect him to come in and compete for time right away."
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JAMAL MANLEY WEST – San Jose, Costa Rica (Monroe College)
Position: F
Ht: 5-11

Notes: Saw action in 17 games for Monroe College earning a start in the NJCAA National Championship match… Recorded 10 goals and 8 assists for the Mustangs… Helped lead Monroe to a 19-1 record and appearance in the NJCAA National Championship… Played soccer at Colegio Monterrey High School in San Jose, Costa Rica prior to playing at Monroe.

Coach's Quote: "Jamal is a player we had been recruiting prior to Monroe. He had a very productive year at Monroe scoring 10 goals and creating 8 assists in helping lead his team to the JUCO National Final game as a freshman. He possesses incredible pace combined with technical ability and will add to our attack as both a winger and forward. We expect Jamal to have an immediate impact."
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A.J. WILLIAMS – Atlanta, Ga. (West Alabama)
Position: F
Ht: 6-3
Club Team: Waza FC

Notes: Made six starts in 19 appearances as a freshman at UWA ... Netted game-winning goal in conference championship to send team to NCAA II Tournament... Led the team in assists with three... Named to 2015 GSC FireSeeds Academic Honor Roll… 2015 graduate of Heritage High School in Saginaw, Mich... Earned First Team All-Conference honors with 20 goals his junior season and 15 goals in his senior season... Posted nine goals as a sophomore to earn honorable mention All-Conference… Four-year captain of his club team helping lead them to Nike and Disney Showcase championships along with a first place U18 state finish.

Coach's Quote: "A.J. is a strong, fast forward with excellent size coming off a solid season in DII having scored 8 goals with an assist and winning a conference championship in his sophomore year. He adds another dimension to our attack with his versatility of size and speed up front as a target player that has an ability to score with both feet. He is also an outstanding student, coming in with a perfect academic record. We expect A.J. to be a contributor up front."

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