Feb. 6, 2014
Coach Pogue Interview
ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland men's soccer team and head coach Eric Pogue announced this week that Gerald Ben, Austin Ricci, Alec Greene, Wes Mink, Zachary Walker, Jayden Heyer and Brian Steele have each signed to play for the Golden Grizzlies next season.
| Player | Position | Hometown | Previous School | Player Highlights |
| Gerald Ben | Forward | Brooklyn Center, Minn. | Westmont College | - Played for Mid-Michigan Bucks in PDL recording 18 points, good for 19th in the PDL |
| Austin Ricci | Midfielder | Newmarket, Ontario, Canada | St. Theresa Lisuex | - League Goal Scoring Champion in 2013 OYSL with 18 goals |
| Alec Greene | Midfielder | Lansing, Mich. | Holt HS | - Three State Cup victories in a row before moving to the CSA Wolves Crew Academy |
| Wes Mink | Goal Keeper | West Chester, Ohio | Gull Lake HS | - All-State Third Team selection and four-time All-Conference honoree |
| Zachary Walker | Goal Keeper | Beverly Hills, Mich. | Detroit Country Day School | - Two-time All-State selection and State Cup Champion |
| Jayden Heyer | Defender | Rockford, Mich. | Rockford HS | - All-State and All-Conference honoree |
| Brian Steele | Defender | Grand Blanc, Mich. | Grand Blanc HS | - All-State and Academic All-State selection |
Pogue on 2014 Recruiting Class
"Our 2014 recruiting class addresses a lot of needs and helps us add talent and depth in all areas of the field--in goal, in defense, in the midfield, and up top. I would like to thank our coaching staff, especially Recruiting Coordinator Stephen Gorton and Assistant Coach Andrew Wagstaff, for all their hard work and diligence with putting this recruiting class together. We have a strong nucleus of talented players returning at Oakland for the Fall 2014 season, but this class will help us continue to take the next step's in our evolution as a program and help us work toward a Horizon League title and NCAA tournament run."
Pogue on Individual Players
Gerald Ben: "Gerald is going to make an immediate impact for us and we are excited to add a player of his caliber to our team this winter after transferring in from Westmont College, an NAIA school in Santa Barbara, California. Gerald has all the physical tools to be a special player, not only in the Horizon League, but nationally. He has the speed and quickness to get in behind back lines, strength to battle top defenders, and is a very clinical and proven goal scorer. Gerald will be very exciting player to watch in Oakland Black & Gold."
Austin Ricci: "Austin is a talented attacking player that we have been tracking for a few years out of Ajax SC and Vaughan SC in Toronto, Canada. Austin is technically very strong, has dynamic 1v1 attacking ability, great in combination play, and ability to show up in the box and score big goals. We expect Austin to come in and contribute right away to a very good attacking unit we have."
Alec Greene: "Alec is a high level player that we earmarked very early on in the recruiting process as someone that would fit in great with Oakland's style of play. He is a hard working, blue collar player with good technical ability and the versatility to play a number of different positions. Alec comes from a great soccer background and has had tremendous coaching having grown up playing in the CSA Wolves academy under Coach(s) Brian Doyle and Lars Richters."
Wes Mink: "Wes has all the physical tools to be another in the line of great goalkeepers in Oakland soccer history. At 6'5, Wes has a commanding presence in goal, especially in his ability to win balls in the air and make the special saves to keep his team in the game. Wes plays for one of the top club teams in the country, Cincinnati United Premier (CUP), coached by Bobby Puppione, and has help lead his team to numerous appearances in National League and the National Championships. We expect Wes to step in and compete with Eliott and Zach for the starting goalkeeper job from day one."
Zachary Walker: "I have known Zach and his family since he was 10 years old having coached him in his early years at u10-u13, so we were excited to add Zach to our recruiting class. Zach comes from a long line of goalkeepers in his family and thus has a great tactical and technical understanding of the position. Zach has been a mainstay in goal for the last 4+ years for his club team, National League member WAZA under Coach Peter Langens, and high school at Detroit Country Day under Coach (s) Paul Bartoshuk, Bob Bukari and Dave Hicklin."
Jayden Heyer: "Jayden has a huge upside and someone we are very excited for his future in the Oakland Black & Gold. He reminds me of a young Luke Diener when he came to Oakland. Jayden has good size, athleticism, technical ability and versatility to play a number of different positions for us. He is going to be a very good player for us and someone we have big expectations for. Jayden has played club soccer at National League member Alliance under Coach Abe Shearer, so we are happy to keep up our connections to top players on the west side of the state going with the addition of Jayden."
Brian Steele: "Brian is also someone that I have known for many years having coached him and Zach together in the early years. Brian is central defender with size, strength and ball winning ability that will look to compete for playing time in our backline. Besides being a talented soccer player, Brian is also an excellent student and will really bring a strong work ethic and drive to be successful to our team. Also, playing for a top coach like Peter Langens at WAZA, Brian will be a stalwart on for Oakland for many years to come."
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