Index of Sports Press Releases

April 22, 2009

Tosaya adds two more to Tiger men’s soccer team

Jeremy Tosaya

MITCHELL, S.D. – New Dakota Wesleyan University men’s soccer coach Jeremy Tosaya announced Wednesday that he has added two more standouts to his first recruiting class, which brings his 2009 class to nine outstanding signees thus far.

Tosaya’s latest signings include another talented in-state recruit and a Tosaya’s first signee from outside South Dakota. With the addition of Nick Sterling, a star forward/midfielder from Rapid City Central High School, and Paul Ciriot, a midfielder from Crowley High School in Texas, Tosaya said his recruiting class took another huge step in the right direction.

“I’m really excited to have Paul and Nick sign with the Tigers,” Tosaya said. “We still have a couple holes to fill, but we’re getting closer and closer to being competitive in the GPAC next year. The returners and I are very excited to see what we can put on the field next season with guys like Nick and Paul coming in.”

Sterling put the finishing touches on a terrific three-year career at Central last fall, and his offensive skill set should be immediately valuable to the Tigers. Sterling was a three-year letterwinner and the recipient of the Cobbler’s Best Offensive Player award. He also played for the Rushmore Soccer Club, and Tosaya thinks he got a steal in Sterling, who he thinks was underrated during his prep career. Sterling is the eighth in-state recruit to commit to DWU for next fall.

“Nick is another local South Dakota player I’m really happy to have,” Tosaya said. “He was overlooked in the All-State voting because of the high school he played at, but he has shown he can play in a competitive environment with the Rushmore Soccer Club.

“Nick will add a lot of depth to our forwards and midfielders. He is a versatile athlete and we can use him to set up an attack or to finish it on the other end. I look forward to having Nick’s work ethic at Wesleyan as well.”

Ciriot will move north to Dakota Wesleyan after taking a year off following his 2008 graduation from Crowley High School. In addition to a great two-year career as a starter and a letterwinner for the Eagles, Ciriot also has extensive experience playing for the renowned Odyssey Soccer Club out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Tosaya said that playing at that level should have Ciriot prepared for college soccer, though Tosaya joked that the biggest adjustment will be to the much colder climate.

“Paul is going to add depth for us at the outside positions,” Tosaya said. “I’m looking for Paul to make an impact for us right away at the outside back position. He is able to run the length of the field and he can be attack-minded, but he is also solid defensively. If he can handle the snow I think he’ll be a great addition to the Tiger soccer program.”

Sterling and Ciriot bring Tosaya’s inaugural recruiting class up to nine members. His other commitments, all South Dakota seniors, include: Rapid City’s Aaron Foss, Jeremy Maier and Eric Moller, Pierre’s Jarrett Klinger and Austin Munyon, Sioux Falls’ Austin Brynjulson and Spearfish’s Drew Joachim.

The Tigers will open their 2009 season with two exhibition games and an intersquad scrimmage before their official season opener on Sept. 4, at home again Friends University.