Boys U18 Defender, David Abidor, recently committed to playing college soccer at the University of Dayton David Abidor was recently featured in an article on TopDrawerSoccer, for his college commitment to the University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio. David was included on a list of high school seniors who compete in the Development Academy that have decided on the next step in their academic and soccer careers.  Next year as a Dayton Flyer, Abidor will play in the competitive Atlantic-10 conference.  In 2011, he will compete for a starting position on a young, talented roster. Visit topdrawersoccer to see full article on David. http://topdrawersoccer.com/players-to-watch/players-to-watch-archives/nid-19480/Academy-standouts-release-commitments  

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David Abidor Commits to Dayton

Former SSM player, Gideon Asante was recently named as a member of the National All-Freshman team by College Soccer News NORFOLK, VA–Old Dominion’s freshman midfielder Gideon Asante (Sunyani, Ghana) has been selected First Team All-Freshman by College Soccer News. Asante scored four goals along with two assists for 10 total points this year. He scored two goals in the Monarchs 2-1 victory over second ranked North Carolina. Earlier Asante was named to the second team All-CAA squad as well as the CAA’s All-Rookie team. Asante earned first team NSCAA All-South Region honors as well. After leading the Monarchs to the win over North Carolina, Asante was named to TopDrawer’s Soccer National Team of the Week, and College Soccer News national Player of the Week. Asante is the fourth Monarch freshmen to receive national honors. He joins Steffen Rabben in 2008, Trevor Banks in 2005 and Attila Vendegh in 2000. The Monarchs finished the season with a 10-7-2 record and advanced to the NCAA College Cup’s second round after defeating defending National Champion Virginia, 1-0 in the first round. ODU has competed in seven of the last nine College Cups and reached the second round in each. COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS 2010 ALL FRESHMAN TEAM 1st Team Darren Mattocks-Akron(F) Soony Saad- Michigan (F) Juan Castillo- SMU (F) Dylan Mares- Louisville (MF) Kelyn Rowe-UCLA (MF) Perry kitchen -Akron (MF) GIDEON ASANTE- ODU (MF) Tyler Polak-Creighton (D) Sebastian Ibeagha -Duke (D) Shaun Foster-Hofstra (D) Cody Mizell- Clemson (GK)

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Gideon Asante named First team All-Freshman

Teal Bunbury Recently Trained with Stoke City of the EPL Article from the New York Times Written By: Jack Bell It was last October in the tunnel leading to the field at Red Bull Arena when Teal Bunbury found himself standing next to his boyhood idol as the Kansas City Wizards prepared to play the Red Bulls. “Arsenal is my favorite team and growing up Thierry Henry was always my favorite player,” Bunbury, 20, said in a telephone interview from California, where he is training with the United States national team. “And there I was standing next to him. At first, it was weird. I was in awe. But I had to snap out of it and play the game. We talked briefly and he sent me one of his Red Bulls jerseys autographed.” “I was there for 10 days and they gave me an opportunity to train and build relations,” Bunbury said. “Guys like Gudjohnsen and Fuller helped me out and gave me advice on how to take things to the next level.” He was referring to striker EiDUR Gudjohnsen of Iceland and the Jamaican striker Ricardo Fuller. But a transfer to the Premier League? “That’s most people’s initial reaction, but they don’t know what’s really going on,” Bunbury said. “It’s just good to go out and train and play against some of the best. No, I’m not going to sign with them.” No yet, at least. Bunbury is among a cadre of mostly young players training with the United States national team ahead of the international friendly against Chile at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Jan. 22. Among the two dozen in camp are mostly players from out-of-season M.L.S teams and Americans playing in European leagues that are on their winter break, half of whom have never played for the senior national team. Bunbury made his debut for the United States late last year in an international friendly at South Africa. He is also one of a handful of young players who, faced with a choice, have pledged their allegiance to the United States national team program. Last week, Coach Bob Bradley added a Europe-based player to his roster. Eugene Starikov, 22, a striker for Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia who is playing on loan with Tom Tomsk, chose the United States over Ukraine. He was born in Odessa but grew up in Florida and played at Stetson University. Then central midfielder Fabian Hürzeler, 17, of Bayern Munich, who was born in Texas but grew up in Germany, decided to play for the United States under-20 national team, which is preparing for this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. The United States currently has in camp midfielder Mikkel Diskerud, who was born and plays in Norway, but whose mother is an American from Arizona. Their choice to play for the United States mildly assuages the disappointment at losing players like striker Giuseppe Rossi (born in New Jersey) to his father’s native Italy and defender Neven Subotic (born in Serbia, grew up in the United States) to his homeland. For Bunbury (whose father, Alex, played 65 times for Canada from 1986 to 1997) and others, it is mostly about opportunity (Canada has not played in the World Cup since 1986) and pride. “It’s just where I felt my heart was,” said Bunbury, who grew up in suburban Minneapolis. “You can’t please everybody and you have to do what’s right for yourself.” Bradley, 52, who was given a four-year contract extension after last summer’s World Cup in South Africa, said he might also take on the role as coach of the Olympic team, should it qualify for the 2012 London Games. He had a number of players in the senior national team camp — Bunbury, Juan Agudelo, Brek Shea, Anthony Wallace and Diskerud — who also are eligible to play in the under-23 Olympic tournament.

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Bunbury Finds New Opportunities

Ben Sippola ’07 was recently named to the NSCAA All-American first team. Ben Sippola http://butlersports.com/sports/m-soccer/2010-11/releases/121110aaa Ben earned this honor while leading his Butler men’s soccer  team to a 16-1-3 record and a final ranking of 6th in the nation. The Butler soccer team also had 4 other former SSM soccer players on its roster.  Julian Cardona ’09, Adekunle Oluyedun ’10, Adam Glanzer ’10 and Joel Zimmerly ’10 were also members of the team. In addition to his All-American honor, Ben was named the Horizon conference player of the year and was a Semi-finalist for the NCAA top individual soccer award, the Herman Trophy. As a semi-finalist, he is recognized as one of the top 15 players in the country. This award was won last year by another former SSM soccer player, Teal Bunbury ‘08.

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Ben Sippola First Team All-American

Ben Sippola 2010 Horizon League Player of the Year 2010 November 11 by Brian Quarstad  Ben Sippola   Minnesota’s Ben Sippola has been chosen as the 2010 Horizon League Player of the Year. Sippola  is from Northfield, Minnesota and played for Shattuck – St. Mary’s before attending Butler University. According to Sippola, the senior midfielder is playing a more attacking role this year for his school which has allowed him to lead the Bulldogs (15-0-2) in scoring with 7 goals. Sippola was also chosen as the Offensive Player of the Year and voted in as first team All-League which are both decided by league coaches. Sippola currently leads the league in assists (9), while ranking second in total points (23).  He’s ranked ninth in the NCAA Division I in assists with 11.

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Ben Sippola Horizon League Honors

Najar and Bunbury ponder USMNT option   For MLS rookies Andy Najar and Teal Bunbury, the decision on what national team they would represent may have seemed easy a year ago. Today, both appear to have serious decisions to make. Both Najar and Bunbury have turned down national team call-ups, Najar by Honduras and Bunbury by Canada, as they weigh their options and try to balance the beginnings of their professional careers. For Bunbury, who can play for either Canada or the United States, he didn’t seem to have much of a decision to make after having represented Canada on the youth national team level, but now he is clearly considering the United States. For Najar, the situation isn’t as simple. He is a native of Honduras and can represent the Catrachos immediately, but he is at least considering the possibility of waiting until he is eligible to play for the United States. He turned down a call-up for Honduras’ upcoming friendly vs. Panama, a call-up that makes it clear Honduras is worried about losing him. Are Najar and Bunbury wise to wait on their decisions, and are they players who could help the United States down the road? The easy answer to both is yes. There is no rush for either player. Najar is 17 and Bunbury is 20. Both are very promising prospects who could absolutely provide depth to the U.S. national team pool, though maybe not right away. Bunbury’s combination of size and speed would make him an attractive option for Bob Bradley, and perhaps more importantly, he’s still young and learning his trade. He came on strong late in the year for the Wizards, finishing with five goals and two assists. Solid numbers considering he started just 13 games. Najar is a dynamic force who could develop into a difference-maker on the wing. The only issue with him is that he’s still several years to go before he could represent the United States. Does he wait on American citizenship, or does he commit to Honduras now and potentially earn a place in their World Cup qualifying plans? At 17, Najar is hardly in a position where he has to rush. He’ll be 21 when the 2014 World Cup rolls around so he isn’t facing the same type of time crunch that forced Yura Movsisyan to choose to play for Armenia rather than waiting for American citizenship. Bunbury’s decision is likely to come sooner, and it will be a tough one. Can he pass on Canada, who his father played for, or will he pass on the United States to play for a national team with a track record of inconsistency and underachievement? He is clearly torn at the moment, meaning he just might choose the United States. Tough decisions for two young talents. Decisions USA fans will be waiting anxiously for. What do you think? Hoping both players choose to play for the United States, or do you think they’re better off choosing other options?

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Bunbury Ponder’s Call Up to US Men’s National Team