Looking to regain their stature atop the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), West Virginia Wesleyan Soccer Coach Gavin Donaldson has secured a highly touted recruiting class for 2006.

“This is as good of a recruiting class as we have had here at Wesleyan in the last 10 years,” remarked Donaldson, who will begin his 19th season at the helm of the Bobcats. “I am anxious to see them compete this fall. I believe several of them can make significant contributions to the continued success of our program and help lead us to our goal of winning the WVIAC championship.”

Eleven recruits make up the class of 2006 to date. They include incoming freshmen Garrett Douglass (Patuxent High, MD), Josh Gibson (Saint Anthony's College High School, England), David Jochynek (Washington, PA), Patrick Haines (Fairmont Senior), Deric McDonald (Parkersburg), Abe Levin-Nielsen (Parkersburg), Jeremy Oates (Fontainebleau, LA), Jimmy Pietras (Hohenfels American High, Germany), Greg Wilmoth (Fairmont Senior), Drew Wolf (Parkersburg), and sophomore transfer Andrew Baldasare (Gannon University).

The new recruits include five from West Virginia, two from Pennsylvania, one from Maryland, one from Louisiana, and two from Europe. The five in-state players are from just two schools -- Parkersburg and Fairmont Senior, which are the two schools that met for the West Virginia Class AAA championship this past year.

“We looked at two of the best programs in the state and recruited some very fundamentally strong players,” remarked Donaldson. “The Parkersburg trio of McDonald, Levin-Nielsen, and Wolf are three of the top players in West Virginia. The two players from Fairmont Senior, Haines and Wilmoth, bring a wealth of winning experience from their club and high school teams. They will all have an early impact on the success of our program.”

The out-of-state recruits bring similar talents to the Bobcats. Jochyneck helped his Century United of Pittsburgh club team to three Pennsylvania state championship titles. He was also a two-time All-WPIAL Section 5 Player of the Year as well as a two-time member of the All-Section 5 team. Douglass was his team’s leader in assists and was named to the all-county team, while Oates, who led his team to its Louisiana high school championship, was named to several first teams including All-District, All-Metro, and All-State.

Bringing an international flavor to the 2006 recruiting class is Gibson and Pietras. Gibson comes from Ascot, Berkshire, England where he was a forward for Saint Anthony's College High School while Pietras will join the Wesleyan 'Cats as a defender from Hohenfels American High School in Germany. Pietras’ father Glenn was a stand-out basketball player for Wesleyan in the ‘70s.

The one transfer joining the Bobcats is Baldasare. He is an Upper St. Clair (PA) High School graduate and spent one year at Gannon University. “He is an experienced goal keeper who will vie for time with incumbent George Rowley,” remarked Donaldson.

The Bobcats will open the 2006 campaign on Aug. 25 against Lincoln Memorial University (TN) at Northern Kentucky University. “We are very happy with the incoming freshman class,” concluded Donaldson. “We are excited about their potential and I believe we have added depth and talent at several positions.”