Senior Day
October 21, 2011 10:52 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Every year Senior Day comes and goes with the recognition of what multiple student-athletes have persevered through in their four years of college. For WVU men’s soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc, this year’s class is a little more special due to the fact that it is his first full class to go through the program under his coaching.
Three student assistants, three defenders, two forwards, one midfielder and one goalkeeper from the No. 14 West Virginia men’s soccer squad will participate in the final home match of their careers tonight at 7 p.m., against Providence.
“This is the first group that we were able to go out and spend a full year recruiting,” LeBlanc says. “When I took the job in August of 2006, I didn’t really have a chance to go out and recruit. Being able to see all these guys come through the program is special.”
Nick Claudio, Declan Coll, Matt Drake, Raymon Gaddis, Ruben Garrido, Connor Gorman, Adam Mills, Franck Tayou, Uzi Tayou and Yale Tiley have played in a combined 328 games and scored 18 goals while leading WVU to a 31-27-14 record, including a 19-13-3 record in the past two seasons.
A Charleston, W.Va., native, Claudio has played in 42 career games and has started 14 after successfully making the transition from defense to forward. He has taken 12 shots in his career with one assist. Claudio joins only Ashraf Ahmad as the only other West Virginia native to be a four-year letterwinner since 2000. The finance major is a BIG EAST Academic All-Star, as well as a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
“Being from West Virginia it is a great opportunity to play in front of and represent the state. We want a ring so bad,” Claudio says. “Our goal was to win a national title at the beginning of the year and we’re still shooting for that.”
Coll spent two years as a midfielder before suffering a career-ending knee injury. A native of Derry, Ireland, Coll played in 20 games, starting 16 and had one assist in the 2008 season with 17 shots. As a philosophy major, he has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member.
After deciding to transfer from Oregon State, Drake found a home in Morgantown in 2010 and has played in 34 games, starting 26. Since moving to the backline at Cincinnati, the squad has only allowed two goals in five games. The Portland, Ore., native has two goals and one assist, while taking 19 shots in his two seasons. The exercise physiology major is a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and is a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
“God has blessed me and this team is amazing,” Drake says. “Coming from a team that didn’t make the tournament and to a team that will hopefully make it two years in a row is a huge accomplishment.”
Known for his tenacious defending, Gaddis will end his career a three-year WVU captain and arguably the top defender to ever come through the program. The Indianapolis, Ind., native has played in 70 games, starting 69, and has logged 6,440 minutes. Gaddis has six assists in his career and has taken 22 shots. He is a two-time member of the Hermann Trophy Watch List and was a third-team All-American in 2010. As a second team all-BIG EAST honoree in 2010, Gaddis was named to the 2011 all-BIG EAST preseason team. As a multidisciplinary studies major, Gaddis has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
“It’s been a great experience, I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Gaddis says. “I made the right decision as a student-athlete to come to West Virginia. It’s been a very opportunistic situation for me and the fans have been great.”
An Elkhart, Ind., native, Garrido has played in 70 career games, starting 42 with three goals and 25 shots. The finance major is a BIG EAST Academic All-Star, a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member and was named a 2010 ESPN Academic All-District second team member.
After suffering numerous season-ending knee injuries and ultimately a career-ending injury, Gorman played in one game for the Mountaineers. The native of Philadelphia, Pa., is a finance major and has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member.
An Indianapolis, Ind., native, Mills has moved to the student coach position after suffering numerous knee injuries. The forward played in 27 career games, starting ten and recording two goals on 15 shots. The political science major has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member.
The Tayou brothers originally hail from Cameroon and came to Morgantown in 2010 by way of Las Vegas, Nev. Franck led WVU in scoring last season with nine goals, while recording a hat trick in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Xavier. Franck has played in 33 career games and has nine goals and one assist, while taking 51 shots. Uzi has played in 32 career games, starting 30. He has two goals on 10 shots, including a goal in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at No. 1 Akron last season. Both Franck and Uzi major in multidisciplinary studies.
“I was blessed to be in the position to come here and play two years with my brother while meeting a lot of good people from West Virginia and all over,” Uzi says. “I enjoyed my time here with the guys and the opportunity to play.”
A Charleston, W.Va., native, Tiley is the only walk-on to make the squad in four years after trying out in 2008 as a midfielder. Tiley has successfully made the move to goalkeeper and has served as a backup keeper for four seasons. The biochemistry major is a student in the WVU Honors College, a BIG EAST Academic All-Star, is a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor.
“This experience is something I couldn’t have gotten by being a regular student,” Tiley says. “I’ve got to meet so many different guys from different places and it truly means a lot to me as a player to have these friends. This team is a brotherhood and it’s a nice feeling to have.”
Three student assistants, three defenders, two forwards, one midfielder and one goalkeeper from the No. 14 West Virginia men’s soccer squad will participate in the final home match of their careers tonight at 7 p.m., against Providence.
“This is the first group that we were able to go out and spend a full year recruiting,” LeBlanc says. “When I took the job in August of 2006, I didn’t really have a chance to go out and recruit. Being able to see all these guys come through the program is special.”
Nick Claudio, Declan Coll, Matt Drake, Raymon Gaddis, Ruben Garrido, Connor Gorman, Adam Mills, Franck Tayou, Uzi Tayou and Yale Tiley have played in a combined 328 games and scored 18 goals while leading WVU to a 31-27-14 record, including a 19-13-3 record in the past two seasons.
A Charleston, W.Va., native, Claudio has played in 42 career games and has started 14 after successfully making the transition from defense to forward. He has taken 12 shots in his career with one assist. Claudio joins only Ashraf Ahmad as the only other West Virginia native to be a four-year letterwinner since 2000. The finance major is a BIG EAST Academic All-Star, as well as a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
“Being from West Virginia it is a great opportunity to play in front of and represent the state. We want a ring so bad,” Claudio says. “Our goal was to win a national title at the beginning of the year and we’re still shooting for that.”
Coll spent two years as a midfielder before suffering a career-ending knee injury. A native of Derry, Ireland, Coll played in 20 games, starting 16 and had one assist in the 2008 season with 17 shots. As a philosophy major, he has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member.
After deciding to transfer from Oregon State, Drake found a home in Morgantown in 2010 and has played in 34 games, starting 26. Since moving to the backline at Cincinnati, the squad has only allowed two goals in five games. The Portland, Ore., native has two goals and one assist, while taking 19 shots in his two seasons. The exercise physiology major is a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and is a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
“God has blessed me and this team is amazing,” Drake says. “Coming from a team that didn’t make the tournament and to a team that will hopefully make it two years in a row is a huge accomplishment.”
Known for his tenacious defending, Gaddis will end his career a three-year WVU captain and arguably the top defender to ever come through the program. The Indianapolis, Ind., native has played in 70 games, starting 69, and has logged 6,440 minutes. Gaddis has six assists in his career and has taken 22 shots. He is a two-time member of the Hermann Trophy Watch List and was a third-team All-American in 2010. As a second team all-BIG EAST honoree in 2010, Gaddis was named to the 2011 all-BIG EAST preseason team. As a multidisciplinary studies major, Gaddis has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
“It’s been a great experience, I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Gaddis says. “I made the right decision as a student-athlete to come to West Virginia. It’s been a very opportunistic situation for me and the fans have been great.”
An Elkhart, Ind., native, Garrido has played in 70 career games, starting 42 with three goals and 25 shots. The finance major is a BIG EAST Academic All-Star, a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member and was named a 2010 ESPN Academic All-District second team member.
After suffering numerous season-ending knee injuries and ultimately a career-ending injury, Gorman played in one game for the Mountaineers. The native of Philadelphia, Pa., is a finance major and has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member.
An Indianapolis, Ind., native, Mills has moved to the student coach position after suffering numerous knee injuries. The forward played in 27 career games, starting ten and recording two goals on 15 shots. The political science major has been a BIG EAST Academic All-Star and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll member.
The Tayou brothers originally hail from Cameroon and came to Morgantown in 2010 by way of Las Vegas, Nev. Franck led WVU in scoring last season with nine goals, while recording a hat trick in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Xavier. Franck has played in 33 career games and has nine goals and one assist, while taking 51 shots. Uzi has played in 32 career games, starting 30. He has two goals on 10 shots, including a goal in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at No. 1 Akron last season. Both Franck and Uzi major in multidisciplinary studies.
“I was blessed to be in the position to come here and play two years with my brother while meeting a lot of good people from West Virginia and all over,” Uzi says. “I enjoyed my time here with the guys and the opportunity to play.”
A Charleston, W.Va., native, Tiley is the only walk-on to make the squad in four years after trying out in 2008 as a midfielder. Tiley has successfully made the move to goalkeeper and has served as a backup keeper for four seasons. The biochemistry major is a student in the WVU Honors College, a BIG EAST Academic All-Star, is a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor.
“This experience is something I couldn’t have gotten by being a regular student,” Tiley says. “I’ve got to meet so many different guys from different places and it truly means a lot to me as a player to have these friends. This team is a brotherhood and it’s a nice feeling to have.”
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