It’s that time of the year again. Six new players joined the UNM men’s soccer team for the 2016 National Signing Day on Wednesday.
But this isn’t just any group of players; Top Drawer Soccer ranked this Lobo recruiting class as the fifth best class in the nation.
In a statement, head coach Jeremy Fishbein described the ranking as flattering and said he was grateful for all the work his coaching staff put in.
“Paul Souders and Mike Graczyk both deserve the credit for bringing in such a talented class,” the statement read. "[They] have put in countless hours in the recruiting process to help these young men transition to the University of New Mexico."
In 2015, three of the six recruits came from a different country, but this year all recruits are from the Unites States, which two hailing from New Mexico.
Chris Lovato, a midfielder/defender, is a Los Lunas native who collected six state titles while playing for Rio Rapids 97. He played three years for Los Lunas HS, where, during his first season, he scored a total of 41 goals. Lovato also got some high level experience when he trained with the Colorado Rapids Developmental Academy in 2014.
The other New Mexican is Luke Lawrence, an Albuquerque native and 2013 La Cueva graduate. At La Cueva, Lawrence was a two-time state champion. The 6-foot-2 forward spent the last two and a half years at Fort Lewis College where he was a 2014 All-Region and 2015 Preseason All-Conference honoree.
The first recruit from out of state is Matt Constant, a 6-5 center back from Texas. Constant is ranked by College Soccer News as the 27th best prospect in the nation. He spent the past year in residency with the U.S. U-17 national team in Florida. Before that, he spent seven years with the Dallas Texans.
In the midfield, the Lobos now have Grayson Dupont. The Alabama native spent the last year at the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy, an institute often regarded as the top high school program in the nation. During his time there, Dupont helped his team win a fifth straight national title.
For the offense, Ethan Zubak might help the Lobos get the ball in the back of the net. The 6-3 forward from California is ranked as the 14th best prospect in the nation by College Soccer News. During his last two seasons with the MLS LA Galaxy Academy, Zubak scored 46 goals and 29 assists. This ranks him among the top three scorers in the country.
Last, but not least, is Noah Bushey, a midfielder from Colorado. Bushey was a captain for his Olympic Development Program team in 2012 and for the Colorado Rush Academy team. Aside from leadership skills, Bushey also brings international experience, having trained at Real Madrid CF as part of the 2014 Real Madrid Select Program.
Top Drawer Soccer described him as a player who can “punish with his ability to strike the ball from distance.”
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In the statement, Fishbein said all sixth recruits would fit in nicely with the program.
“[They] are everything we look for in Lobo Soccer players and will be great representatives of our University, the city of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico,” he said.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
