Feb. 26, 2007
Duquesne University second year men's soccer coach Jake Ouimet announced today his first recruiting class as 11 student-athletes made commitments to Duquesne and will attend classes this fall. Joining the Dukes for the 2007 season will be Cory Bachstein (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury), Niccolas Barton (Marietta, GA/Lassiter), Lance England (Elkton, MD/St. Mark's), Ben Horner (Butler, PA/Butler), Stefan Lundberg (Lower Burrell, PA/Kiski Area), James Mallon (Leesburg, VA/Heritage), Sean Merfeld (Alpharetta, GA/Chattahoochee), Ryan Slaby (Pittsburgh, PA/Central Catholic), Gavin Stabbe (Baden, PA/Ambridge), Christopher Torres (Vienna, VA/McLean) and Jamie Waugh (Whitby, ONT/Sinclair Secondary). Ouimet's class boasts an All-American, a Regional All-American and five All-State players.
"This recruiting class is a very talented group of players who will make a positive impact on our program," head coach Ouimet said. "These players embody the Duquesne Soccer tradition of confidence, ability and a winning mentality."
Cory Bachstein comes to Duquesne as a 2006 First Team All-League and All-Area Golden Team selection. A 3D award winner and midfield MVP, he was a Second team All-League choice in 2003 when he led his team with 11 goals as a freshman. He is currently 12th all-time at Pennsbury with 24 career goals and is 15th all-time with 62 points for the Suburban One League Champions. Bachstein also played for the nationally-ranked Nether Providence Mustangs and was a two-year member of the Eastern PA Youth Soccer Association ODP team.
Nicco Barton joins the Dukes from Lassiter High School in Georgia where the Trojans were two-time state semifinalists. He led the team in scoring as a junior with 15 goals and was second with eight assists. As a sophomore he contributed five goals and three assists and was team MVP as a freshman when he tallied 17 goals and eight assists. Lassiter opened its 2007 season on Feb. 14. In club action, Barton was a multi-year participant and three-year captain for the three-time state champion Cobb Futbol Club's Gold Team. In addition, he was an ODP player in 2002 and 2003.
Lance England played for two successful teams during his high school career, combining for 41 goals and 26 assists. As a senior at St. Mark's he was an All-State Second Team honoree as well as a First team All-Conference selection and state All-Star team participant. In three seasons at North East he was a two-time First Team All-County selection, a two-time Offensive MVP and two-time Athlete of the Week. He also led the county in scoring as a sophomore. England also played for DE Kirkwood Premiere in the Kirkwood Soccer Club and was a member of the 2005 and 2006 Delaware ODP Tournament Team where he tallied four goals and two assists in 2006.
Ben Horner helped lead the Golden Tornadoes to a 20-3-1 record and a Section II championship as a senior. The All-State, All-WPIAL, All-County, All-Section and team MVP honoree was also the Post-Gazette North Player of the Year, the Section II Player of the Year and a Post-Gazette All-Area team selection. A four-year starter, he tallied 16 goals and 34 assists and was also All-WPIAL, All-Section, All-County and team MVP as a junior. In ODP action, he was a six-year member of PA West and in club soccer was a member of Beadling, S.C. and a member of the PA West U-17 state champions in 2006.
Stefan Lundberg was named an NSCAA All-American after leading the WPIAL with 36 goals in 2006. The Post-Gazette and Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year was also an NSCAA All-Region choice, a two-time All-State honoree, Section Player of the Year and a three-time All-WPIAL and All-Section selection. He was also a two-time team MVP and Post-Gazette East All-Star, leading his teams to the play-offs three consecutive years. In addition, his 36 goals as a senior and 67 career goals are both school records at Kiski Area. In other competition, he was a four-year Region I ODP player, was a State ODP captain every season he played and played for the Century V club. This year he will play for PA Classics which is ranked in the top 10 in the nation by gotsoccer.com.
James Mallon helped Heritage High reach the 2006 VHSL district finals, Region II finals and state semi-finals. A three-year varsity starter, he also served as captain for Sterling United for four years, leading his team to victory at the Adidas Potomac Memorial Championship and to a semi-final finish at the Virginia State Cup Championship.
Sean Merfeld prepped at Chattahoochee High School where he led the Cougars to two state play-offs in his first two seasons with his senior year season just getting underway. His team is currently ranked second in the state. In club team action for Atlanta Fire United Gold, he led Classic 1 in the fall in goals against, allowing just nine in 11 games and has not allowed more than two goals in a game in his past 30 contests. He was also a two-time Georgia ODP participant and played Super Y in 2004 with his team finishing third in the Atlantic South Region.
Ryan Slaby was a First Team All-State choice as a senior and was a two-time All-WPIAL and All-Section honoree. He finished his career with 62 goals and 55 assists including 21 goals and 10 assists as a senior in leading Central Catholic to its first soccer play-off victory in school history. A four-year letterman and two-time team captain and team MVP, Slaby was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette All-Area Team as a senior. In club action, he is in his fourth season playing for Century United in the Region I Director's League where his team has won two state championships and was state runners-up once.
Gavin Stabbe was an All-State honoree for a very successful Ambridge team that went 66-15-8 with a state semifinals appearance, a WPIAL championship appearance and a section championship during his career. A two-time team captain, he tallied 30 career goals and was a three-time All-WPIAL choice and a three-time All-Section honoree. Stabbe also played locally for the Northern Steel Soccer Club.
Chris Torres was a First Team All-District choice as a junior as well as a Second Team All-Northern Region and All-Met Honorable Mention honoree. A two-year letterman with his senior season just getting underway, The Highlanders went 7-4-0 last season, finished second in the district and qualified for the Northern Region Tournament. Torres also played for Chantilly FC Manchester which won the NSCL U-19 Division I championship and BRYC Premier 88 which was 2007 Virginia State Cup champions. In addition, he has played in the Arlington Bolivian Soccer League for CD Bata which was two-time champions.
Jamie Waugh is a three-year captain and two-year Most Valuable Player for Sinclair Secondary School in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. He also participated in cross country where he was a provincial finalist and track and field where he was a three-time regional finalist. In club action, he played with Cruz Azul, the U-21 Provincial League champions in 2006 and was named Sportsman of the Year with top-ranked Pickering Soccer Club in 2005, making it to the semifinals of the Provincial Cup that season.
