Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh head coach
Dean Koski has announced the signing of six student-athletes that will join the Mountain Hawks soccer program in the 2005 fall semester.
This newest group of recruits come to Lehigh from
Pennsylvania and New York and while not as large as some past classes, these six young men will be asked to contribute just as mightily as any other. "We are very pleased with this years' incoming freshmen class and believe that we've addressed some critical holes in our team with the graduation of four seniors,” explains Koski. “Having said that, our needs were fairly specific with a returning group of nine starters. We hope to see one or two freshmen compete for starting positions and the remainder of the class are experienced and talented enough to see playing time as freshmen."
Ryan Connell comes to Lehigh from Hershey High School, where he was a two-time All-Conference selection. Connell was named to the 2004 Harrisburg Patriot News Big 11 First Team, and led his high school to the District III Title as a senior, which was the school’s first in its history. Connell played his club soccer for Super Nova and was a Super Y Regional ODP selection.
Patrick Cucci arrives on South Mountain from St. Anthony’s High School in New York. While there, Cucci was a two-time CHSAA All-Conference selection, as well as his team’s captain and a 2004 All-State performer. Cucci played his club soccer for Stony Brook Premier and helped lead St. Anthony’s to a CHSAA league championship and an appearance in the state finals as a senior.
Arriving by way of Fleetwood High School in Fleetwood, PA, is Andrew Desiderio. Desiderio was a four-year starter for Fleetwood and served as captain during his senior season. His high school team qualified for the District III Tournament in each of his four seasons, and Desiderio was a member of the Reading Rage during his club soccer days.
Vincent Devine out of Farmingdale, New York, was a high school teammates of Cucci’s at St. Anthony’s High School, where he also served as captain and helped lead the team to a league championship and appearance in the state finals. Like Cucci, Devine also played his club soccer for Stony Brook Premier and he was a two-time CHSAA All-Conference selection.
Jim DiTaranto out of Wallingford, PA, played his high school soccer for Archmere Academy, where he was a 2004 Regional High School All-American, First-Team All-State selection and a First-Team, All-Diamond conference choice. A member of Concord Roma in club soccer, DiTaranto was his high school team’s captain, while leading them to the state semi-finals. DiTaranto assisted or scored on six of the seven goals his high school scored during its state tournament run, and he finished his senior campaign with 26 goals, ten assists, and wound up with 47 career goals.
The final member of this year’s recruiting class is Adam Gazda, who comes to Lehigh from Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Gazda attended Chartiers Valley High School and played his club soccer for Beadling. Gazda was the Pittsburgh Post Gazette West Player of the Year as a senior, and finished his career with 60 goals. Gazda’s post season accolades include being named All-Section 5, All WPIAL, All-Region and All-WPIAL by both the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Gazda was also a regional All-American and a member of the ODP Region I Team.
The Mountain Hawks finished their 2004 season with a record of 12-7-2 and advanced to the Patriot League Championship game for the second consecutive season. 2004 also marked the ninth consecutive winning season for Koski and his team, which is both a Patriot League and school record. Lehigh returns a good deal of its core for the 2005 season, and will add these six newcomers to the mix. Koski concludes, "As is always the case, we'll be able to assess the true strength of this freshmen class once the season has started and we are looking forward to another opportunity to compete for a Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament bid."
Lehigh opens its season on Friday, September 2 when the Mountain Hawks travel to Cornell to take on the Big Red at 7:00 and will then open up their home schedule on that Sunday afternoon, September 4 when Ivy League foe Penn comes to the Ulrich Sports Complex for a 3:00 match.
Lehigh Class of 2009
Name | Position | Hometown/High School | College |
Ryan Connell | Back | Hershey, PA/Hershey | Arts and Sciences |
Patrick Cucci | Forward | Huntington, NY/St. Anthony’s | Business |
Andrew Desiderio | Midfield | Fleetwood, PA/Fleetwood | Business |
Vincent Devine | Back | Farmingdale, NY/St. Anthony’s | Business |
Joe DiTaranto | Midfield | Wallingford, PA/Archmere Academy | Business |
Adam Gazda | Midfield/Forward | Carnegie, PA/Chartiers Valley | Business |
