SLU soccer...soccer folks...

[courtside]

A couple of weeks ago, to the shock of many many folks, Vanderbilt decided to stop sponsoring their men's soccer program, and has added women's swimming. Coach McClements was building a program from scratch and had turned the corner this year in recruiting and play. Originally he was allotted 2 scholarships. Big surprise to him and the team...etc...Anyway....

Joe Germanese, current Soph....MVC Frosh of the year, and an Academic All American this past year...is a SLUH grad and former 1st teamer in STL and MO. He would IMMEDIATELY get time up front for SLU, and is a very good player. VU has also played some top level competition the past two years. The school has said they will honor all scholarships for the full four years.

Germanese chose Vandy for academics...so always possible he is comfortable and wants to stay there and not play....which would be a bit surprising considering the disappointment of having a program taken away at the school.

When looking at colleges, he chose Vandy over Indiana, Stanford, and Northwestern. One of the reasons he cited for choosing VU was close to home and chance to play right away. This might not have happened at IU, though he eventuallly would have played a lot on the deep Hoosiers. Northwestern has landed STL area players in recent years and has been building a nice program...including some SLUH guys. Stanford has 3 STL kids on the roster for next year, and their coach likes STL guys.

He wanted a combo of athletics and academics......He would get time at any of the above schools, including IU.

He is the kind of kid who wants a top tier academic school combined with playing soccer...not sure if he any interest in playing at home...as opposed to the opposite. If he transfers, he can play IMMEDIATELY according to NCAA rules. Who knows what or where he is thinking now.

Needless to say, I would hope Donigan has his phone number on speed dial, and give it his best shot. IMO Germanese would play in front of Patterson, Dado, any incoming newcomers...etc...at forward, immediately. Germanese can play forward or mid. SLU was not in the original mix, but who knows now.