Men's Soccer: Iwunze Joins Mountaineers
June 18, 2010 03:26 PM | General
June 18, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men’s soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc announced today the addition of Paris native Amaugo “Yannick” Iwunze, who will join the Mountaineers for the 2010 season.
"I am pleased to add a player of Yannick's quality to our already outstanding recruiting class," LeBlanc says. "He is a big, fast and athletic forward. At 6-foot-2, 177 pounds, he gives us more size and strength up front. He is a nice complement to our returning forwards and has the skill, ability and physical maturity to make an immediate impact. I'm pleased to welcome Yannick to the Mountaineer family."
Iwunze spent the past five years in Houston, where he was a three-year varsity starter at Hightower High for coach Doug Purcell. Tabbed a captain as a junior and a senior, he helped lead his high school to the playoffs each of the two seasons. He registered 18 goals in his final year, good enough for the school’s single-season record. Iwunze garnered all-Greater Houston Soccer Superlatives accolades, while being named to the all-district team.
As a junior, he again displayed his offensive talent by recording five goals in four matches at the preseason Cy-Fair Tournament, which the school won back-to-back years. For his efforts, he was named one of three MVPs at the tournament. Iwunze first collected high school honors in his freshman season, when he was tabbed newcomer and best freshman forward.
During his high school career, Iwunze excelled on the Houston Dynamo Academy Team. In 2009, he competed at the Development Academy Winter Showcase and later helped the Dynamo capture the MLS U-17 SUM Cup. A year prior, he was tabbed the best player at the club’s elite camp.
Before coming to the United States in 2005, Iwunze played soccer in France, where he starred on several high level soccer clubs.
Iwunze joins a recruiting class that consists of Zachary Claudio (Charleston, W.Va.), Brooks Nucilli (Fairmont, W.Va.), Travis Ives (Bridgewater, N.J.), Jay Williams (Raleigh, N.C.), Allan Flott (Arlington, Va.), junior college transfers, brothers Franck Tayou (Douala, Cameroon) and Uzi Tayou (Bandjoun, Cameroon), and Julio Arjona (Germantown, Md.), who enrolled at WVU in January.
The Mountaineers open the season at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium with the WVU NIKE Classic, facing 2009 NCAA Tournament team Monmouth on Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
