zippypitt Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Former Zip assistant Dave Giffard took a couple Zips with him to VCU...Yoram Mwila and Josh Pantazelos. Not a huge loss; goalie was never going to see the field and Mwila didn't impress. We will get to see both at Lee Jackson, as VCU is the preseason opposition this season. Already counting down the days until our pursuit of the college crown... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Mwila was supposed to replace Bunbury as our top striker. This one might hurt. Pantazelos probably made a good move, he's good enough to start immediately for VCU, but would have remained buried in the depth chart at Akron.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Mwila was supposed to replace Bunbury as our top striker. This one might hurt. Dude, trust me... he was nothing. Every time he touched the ball last year it was a turnover. Darlington will be more than enough at striker. We will be fine. This is addition by subtraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zip37 Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Agree w/ meatwad, they are good players, but our talent level is now WAY beyond good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted June 10, 2010 Report Share Posted June 10, 2010 Former Zip assistant Dave Giffard took a couple Zips with him to VCU...Yoram Mwila and Josh Pantazelos. Not a huge loss; goalie was never going to see the field and Mwila didn't impress. We will get to see both at Lee Jackson, as VCU is the preseason opposition this season. Already counting down the days until our pursuit of the college crown... Alright, now I'm beginning to understand why someone contradicted me when I predicted Yoram would be our leading scorer this year. Next question: Will he be VCU's leading scorer? Secondly, the loss of Josh will also be felt. Yes you can say, "He's just a backup goalkeeper", but we lose one third of our strength at that position, and someone who a year-and-a-half ago was the presumed starter. Kudos to Giffard, and VCU. With Shaka Smart down there, and now Giffard, this is becoming an interesting inter-regional rivalry. And, BTW -- this could help set up what I presaged yesterday -- with the vacancy for a backup, could it be MONSTER HANDS time in the net? What says you Uncle DREALSCOUT1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w00t Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 I have a feeling there might still be a handful of roster changes before we kickoff our first exhibition match (ironically enough against VCU). Good luck to Yoram and Josh, they will be missed, even if in the "off the field" capacity. We are still three deep at GK with the arrival of McAdams (not that you ever really hope to have to see a backup keeper anyway). Up front is another story, but I have to confess that by the end of last season I groaned every time I saw Mwila warming up on the sidelines. He simply gave up the ball way too much... and didn't have blazing speed or clinical finishing to offset that fact. ~ 2 months until VCU match... ~2 hours until France vs. Uruguay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roogangs Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 I will miss Mwila. If we think back, both of our "first round draft strikers" had similar stats as Mwila as freshman. Then they had breakout sophomore years. I was hoping that Mwila was going to follow the trend. I remember seeing Teal his freshman year and not being that impressed (also thinking he gave the ball up a bunch), and look how that changed. Either way, word on the street is that two forwards from Jamacian will be rostered on Akron this coming fall along with all the other incoming freshman know previously. Hopefully one of the new forwards is related to Mr. Bolt from the summer Olympics!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 (ironically enough against VCU). Want to take a guess why we scheduled that game? (hint: not ironic at all) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippypitt Posted June 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 Roogangs- I think your source was correct, until they decided to follow Giffard to VCU too...per VCU website... VCU MEN’S SOCCER ANNOUNCES 2010 RECRUITING CLASS RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University Head Men’s Soccer Coach Dave Giffard has announced his first recruiting class since joining the Rams in January. Giffard and his staff will welcome 15 newcomers to the field for the 2010 season. The class is highlighted by a crop of talented international standouts including Romena Bowie (Saint Mary, Jamaica), Jose Carlos Castillo (Guatemala City, Guatemala) and Jason Johnson (Saint Anne, Jamaica). Hailing from Manchester High School in Jamaica, Bowie and Johnson were each selected to the Jamaican Senior National Team Camp, after leading their squad to a runner-up finish in 2010 DaCosta Cup competition. Meanwhile, Castillo, who spent two months in the Guatemala Senior National Team Camp in 2009, boasts 45 caps for the Guatemala Youth National Teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roogangs Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 Zippypitt- Good catch, although i just heard my source the other day, maybe there are other Jamacian's?? Anyway, I am looking forward to this season. I think we will be bette than last year. I am sure we will have a stud new of former forward, and our defense will still hold strong. Seems Barson was the standout defender while with the U20 USA team while in Holland (Sarkodie, Valentine and Perry also played well: i was there and watched) What a great group of guys we have as a team already!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w00t Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 (ironically enough against VCU). Want to take a guess why we scheduled that game? (hint: not ironic at all) Attempt to build on basketball rivalry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 (ironically enough against VCU). Want to take a guess why we scheduled that game? (hint: not ironic at all) Attempt to build on basketball rivalry? I thought it was scheduled precisely because of the fact that Gif is their new coach. It's not some coincidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plowerman78 Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 roogangs, checked with one of my sources and you are right about the 2 jamacians. One is supposed to be fast as a bullet, and the other is 6'1 185 and is equally as fast. Sorry though dont know the names of the 2 players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip_ME87 Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Zippypitt- Good catch, although i just heard my source the other day, maybe there are other Jamacian's?? Anyway, I am looking forward to this season. I think we will be bette than last year. I am sure we will have a stud new of former forward, and our defense will still hold strong. Seems Barson was the standout defender while with the U20 USA team while in Holland (Sarkodie, Valentine and Perry also played well: i was there and watched) What a great group of guys we have as a team already!!!! Roogangs, I will say that I heard rumor of the Jamaican recruits (from someone inside UA Athletics) well after Coach Gifford was announced as the VCU Head Coach. I also believe that Caleb was in Jamaica on a recruiting trip just prior to the Spring Game with CSU (arrived home a day or so before), which I think was after Coach Gifford went to VCU. I'm hopeful this means that Caleb did indeed recruit these players separate from Coach Gifford. 5 hours to USA v England! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted June 15, 2010 Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 Roogangs, I will say that I heard rumor of the Jamaican recruits (from someone inside UA Athletics) well after Coach Gifford was announced as the VCU Head Coach. I also believe that Caleb was in Jamaica on a recruiting trip just prior to the Spring Game with CSU (arrived home a day or so before), which I think was after Coach Gifford went to VCU. I'm hopeful this means that Caleb did indeed recruit these players separate from Coach Gifford. There are few recruiting pipelines more interesting than the Jamaica-to-Akron one! Maybe we can get Michael Reghi to report this. That would be "irie". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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