CHICAGO (December 21, 2018) - Head coach
Neil Jones announced five new members to the Loyola men's soccer program to begin the 2019 signing class.
Sean Knoblauch (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Liam Moore (New Plymouth, New Zealand), Alex Moskal (Schaumburg, Ill.), Andrew Mitchell (The Woodlands, Texas) and Justin Sukow (San Antonio, Texas) round out the early period recruiting class for Jones. Each player signed their National Letters of Intent and will be eligible to contribute on the pitch beginning in the 2019 season.
"We could not be more excited to welcome this recruiting class in to the Loyola Men's Soccer program. I must thank, and commend our assistant coaches,
Pat Flinn and
Michael Mauro, for all their hard work in helping put together this fantastic class," Jones said. "Each one of these five young men embody the values of a Loyola Rambler Men's Soccer student-athlete. These values include high character, strong work ethic, fantastic team mates and great personality. On top of all these positive traits, each one is a top level soccer player that fill specific positional needs in our team moving forward."
See below for more information regarding each signee.
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Sean Knoblauch | 6-0 | MF | Fr. | Coon Rapids, Minn.
Knoblauch has spent three years playing at the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary's Academy. Knoblauch has also been a member of the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy for five years. Over the past two seasons, the midfielder has been a stalwart in the Sabres by starting in 29 of 35 matches, including each match to date in the 2018 fall season.
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Liam Moore | 6-1 | D | Fr. | New Plymouth, New Zealand
Hailing from New Plymouth, New Zealand, Moore has enjoyed a decorated prep career with the New Zealand National Team, including experience with the U20 Wider Squad and the U17 Squad for the World Cup in India. The 6-1 center back has a proven track record of leadership abilities after being named captain of the Wellington Phoenix Reserves Squad three years in a row.
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Alex Moskal | 6-0 | F | Fr. | Schaumburg, Ill.
The lone in-state recruit in this year's early period class, Moskal will provide Jones with depth up front next year. The Sockers FC Chicago product was a 2016 NPL National Champion and made it to the quarterfinals of 2018 US Developmental Academy Playoffs. He tallied four goals in just nine games during an injury plagued 2017-18 season, but has returned to form for the 2018-19 circuit to guide the Sockers to the No.1 team in the Top Drawer Soccer December U19 rankings.
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Andrew Mitchell | 5-11 | D | Fr. | The Woodlands, Texas
Mitchell currently captains the Texans SC Houston Development Academy, and has started every match so far in the 2018-19 campaign. The center back also started in 96 percent of his matches last season and has six goals to his credit during his tenure in the Development Academy system. Additional prep accolades include helping Woodlands High School win back-to-back District championships in 2016-17. Mitchell was also teammates with
Fabian Becerra and
Bradyn Knutson while playing for the Texans SC Houston DA in the 2017-18 season.
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Justin Sukow | 5-10 | MF | Jr. | San Antonio, Texas (Univ. of South Carolina)
Sukow transfers from the University of South Carolina where he started 27 of 34 matches for the Gamecocks over the last two seasons. The midfielder had an impressive rookie campaign in 2017 by notching five goals (three game-winners) to finish T-9th in the CUSA, and finished with 12 points that ranked second on the team. Sukow added seven more points to his collegiate career (3g, 1a) before making to decision to come to Rogers Park.
For more information on Loyola University Chicago Men's Soccer, you can follow the team on Twitter and Facebook (@LoyolaSoccer) and on Instagram (LoyolaMensSoccer).
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