July 25, 2008

Duquesne University third year men's soccer coach Jake Ouimet announced today his newcomers for 2008 as nine student-athletes made commitments to Duquesne and will attend classes this fall. Joining the Dukes for the 2008 season will be Dave Cassanelli (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), Anthony Caruso (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park), Eric Drewenskus (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue), Jared Gentile (Pultneyville, N.Y./Fairport), Derek Patrizio (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West), Carter Poe (Chesterland, Ohio/West Geauga), Nathan Sprenkel (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community), Colin Thorp (Gaithersburg, Md./St. John's College) and Tyler Tompkins (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon). Ouimet's class boasts a Regional All-American and three All-State players.

"This recruiting class is a strong group of versatile players. We are excited to have another class of top local and regional players join the Dukes soccer program." head coach Ouimet said. Seven of the nine players attended our 2007 Elite camp".

Dave Cassanelli joins the Dukes from Haverford High School where he was an All-State selection and Delaware County Player of the Year. A four-year varsity starter, he was also All-Southeastern PA and named to the first team for the News of Delaware County, Delaware County Daily Times, Mainline Times and Mainline Life. In club action, he played for 2007 national finalist FC Delco, which was also Region 1 and East PA state champions. In addition, he was with Hockessin, winning three Delaware state championships.

Anthony Caruso brings a fine resume with him to Duquesne as a 2007 Regional All-American, an All-State and All-WPIAL choice and section Player of the Year for the two-time WPIAL AAA champions. The team captain led the team as a senior with 33 goals and tallied 64 for his career. He also played for Century United, which was four-time US Club Soccer state champions, two-time USYSA PA West state champions and one-time US Club Soccer Region B champions.

Eric Drewenskus helped lead his high school team to its first play-off appearance in over a decade. He was a second team All-King County choice in 2007 and a two-time All-King County honorable mention as well. A two-time team captain and four-year letterman, he was named team MVP in 2007. In addition, his club team traveled to Spain and advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2007 and the semifinals in 2006.

Jared Gentile comes to Duquesne as a 2007 All Greater Rochester first team selection. A four-year letterman and two-year team captain and team offensive MVP, he tallied 28 career goals and 17 assists. He was also a two-time Monroe County All-Star and Section V All-Tournament Team selection for his section V championship team. He was also a two-year NY West ODP State player for the Region I semifinalists.

Derek Patrizio led his club teams (FC Delco and Hockession Blizzard) to seven state cup championship titles, two Region I championships and two third place finishes in the USYSA National Championships as well as playing ODP for three seasons. In his final two high school seasons, he led his teams to a 33-1-2 record before he sustained a senior-year season-ending injury. Over that span, he collected first and second team All-Chesmont League honors, Philadelphia Inquirer All SE PA team accolades and was twice a second team Daily Local News All-Area team choice. His team was ranked first in Southeast Pennsylvania and as high as third nationally.

Carter Poe was an All-State honoree as well as an All-Greater Cleveland and All-Chagrin Valley Conference choice and a News Herald All-Star. A four-year letterman, team MVP and two-time team captain, his teams were regional semifinalists and two-time conference champions. He was also a Region II ODP pool player and a three-time ODP Ohio North state team player.

Nathan Sprenkel was a three-year high school letterman who posted school records of 23 career shutouts and 262 career saves. An All-Metro, All-Area, All-County and All-Conference choice as a senior, he tallied 12 shutouts in 23 contests with 156 saves and a 0.90 goals against average. His teams were state semifinalists, regional champions and two-time section champions.

Colin Thorp was a three-year ODP participant and played for a club team that was state champions in 2004 and 2005, regional champs in 2005 and third place finishers in 2005. In high school, he was a four-year varsity participant and three-year starter. He earned second team All-Conference, All-Met honorable mention and team MVP honors as a senior and was an All-WCAC honorable mention choice as a sophomore and junior.

Tyler Tompkins was a second team All-State choice as well as a two-time, first team All-West Jersey selection and the 2007 All-West Jersey Player of the Year. His school's all-time second leading scorer, he was also a three-time, first team All-Conference choice and the Express Times Player of the Year. His high school teams were conference champions and two-time county champs while his club team was two-time state cup finalists and five-time state cup semifinalists.