Men's soccer welcomes five transfers

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Adds Five Transfers, All Eligible To Play In 2013
Brown, Hubbard, Koroma, Shams and Speed Look To Make Impact For Mustangs

Aug. 2, 2013

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU Mustangs have announced the addition of five transfers that will be immediately eligible for the 2013 season. Ryan Brown, Trevor Hubbard, Alfred Koroma, Oshick Shams and Jacob Speed fill out a group that will bring value to the Hilltop.

“We are very fortunate to have some outstanding transfers join our team,” Head Coach Tim McClements said. “They’ll bring valuable experience and we look forward to them joining our current players and incoming freshmen.”

According to McClements, the five transfers will add depth across the pitch. Both Brown and Hubbard can play defense or in the midfield, while Koroma is a dangerous scorer on the offensive side. Speed is an athletically gifted central defender and Shams, a former ESPN Rise All-American, could be a strong addition in net for SMU.

The Mustangs will begin their 2013 campaign with two exhibition games before starting the regular season at the IU Credit Union Classic on Aug. 30.

Biographical information for all five transfers is below.


Ryan Brown | MF/F | Plano, Texas

Earned his undergraduate degree from Duke and will enroll in the graduate program at SMU … Saw time in 16 matches as a junior and started one ... Won a state title with Plano West High School in 2009… Named 5A State Tournament MVP and earned first-team all-state and all-district honors as a senior… Played club soccer for Solar ’92 under coach Kevin Smith and advanced to the Region III Semifinals in 2007 and 2008 ... Team captured North Texas State Cup title in 2007 and 2008.


Trevor Hubbard | D/MF | Dallas, Texas

Transferred to SMU in spring 2013 after spending three seasons at South Carolina… Played in 15 games as a junior, registering one assist and one shot on goal… Played in 17 games as a sophomore, starting 14 and picking up two assists … Played in 13 games as a freshman… Was the No. 28 ranked player nationally in his high school class and No. 3 in Texas … Was an Adidas ESP All-Star (2008, 2009) and ESPNRise.com top ESP defender in 2009 … Played for Solar Chelsea SC.


Alfred Koroma | F | Southlake, Texas

Transferred to SMU in the summer after playing one season at Akron … Played in 14 matches for the Zips, scoring three goals … Was the No. 3 high school prospect in the country heading into 2012 … Scored two goals in four matches in the 2011 U17 World Cup in Mexico, helping lead the United States to the knockout stage before falling to eventual third-place finisher Germany … Led Southlake Carroll High School to a state championship in 2011 and district titles in 2010 and 2011 … Played club for Solar Chelsea SC ... Born in Sierra Leone, moved to the United States in 2003.


Oshick Shams | GK | Southlake, Texas

Transferred to SMU after spending one season at Creighton … Was starting goalkeeper for coach Kevin Smith and the USSDA Solar Chelsea U18 team in 2012, finishing fourth in the nation at Academy Finals ... Led his squad to the Dallas Cup Championship in 2006 and 2012 ... Named an ESPN Rise All-American in 2011 and was on the ESPN Rise 2012 Goalkeeper Watch List … Led the Southlake Carroll High School Dragons to the state championship his junior season (2011), earning MVP honors for the tournament ... Sits second in Texas state history for most shutouts in a single season ... Named to the Dallas High School Soccer Starting Eleven by ESPN in 2012.


Jacob Speed | D | Mansfield, Texas

Transferred to SMU in spring 2013 after spending one season at Kentucky … Played with the Dallas Texans and coach David Hudgell from 2008-12 … Was named the man of the match at the USSDA Finals in 2011 ... Was the team captain of the Dallas Texans U-18 academy in 2011 ... Was on the NTX ODP State team (92 boys) and the NTX ODP State team (93 boys) ... With club team in 2011, led the team to an undefeated season, a USSDA Regional Championship and third-place at the USSDA National Finals ... Earned three letters for coach John Frazekas at Mansfield High School ... Led high school to the bi-district championship as a freshman and sophomore ... Was a first-team all-district honoree in 2010 and honorable mention all-district as a freshman ... Was named to the all-district academic team in 2010.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Excited to see the official release on the transfers. These players should make a huge difference this season.

The roster has been updated with the transfers and freshmen - tons of depth!

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/smu-m-soccer-mtt.html

[Vitale]

That looks like a huge roster. We don't normally carry that many players, do we?

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Let's see, there are 30 players currently listed on the 2013 roster.

For comparison:

2012 - 25
2011 - 26
2010 - 28
2009 - 29
2008 - 36
2007 - 29
2006 - 27

So, it's more than we have carried recently but it's certainly not unprecedented.

A more interesting statistic to investigate would be how many players actually get on the field each year and see what happens with the team this year.