South Florida Men's Soccer Signs Five for 2002

Tampa, FL…The University of South Florida men’s soccer team, which enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in history in 2001, announced today (Thursday, February 14) the signing of five top-notch signees. Zarek Francis and Brian Gail join the Bulls from
Flagler Palm Coast High School while Hunter West joins USF after playing his scholastic soccer at Manatee High School. South Florida added international talent for its two final recruits, as Ryan Abraham hails from St. Mary’s College in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad while Jon Peterson of the American School of The Hague in the Netherlands
rounds out the list.

Hunter West (5’11” 170, MF/F, Bradenton, FL) highlights the list of signees, as he was recently named Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year for 2001. West tallied 89 goals the last three years while adding 56 assists, for a total of 234 points. The three-time Manatee High Offensive Player of the Year and MVP also received numerous local, Florida, and national recognitions. His sophomore season was highlighted by being named to the Puma Invitational All-Tournament First-Team, which represented 32 schools while being named to the Herald Tribune’s All-Area First-Team. West’s junior season accolades range from Manatee County Player of the Year to first-team all-area and first-team all-state en route to receiving National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)
All-South Team and All-Academic Team. Hunter’s senior season of 54 goals and 25 assists earned him the most honors though, as he was named all-area and all-state for the second consecutive season, leading to an impressive list of NSCAA Adidas honors. West was named to the NSCAA Adidas Scholar Athlete All-Region Team, All-South Team, Florida State Player of the Year, and All-America Team.

Zarek Francis (6’1” 190, F, Palm Coast, FL) also enjoyed a lucrative scholastic career, as he recorded a 133 goals while adding 57 assists for 323 career points. The four-year letterman progressed each season, as he tallied 14 goals and 7 assists in his freshman
campaign while nearly tripling that in his senior season with 48 goals and 20 assists. Earned numerous accolades as well, including all-conference, and all-area honors. Francis expanded his talents by competing on the Flagler Dawgs Club Team for six-seasons.

Brian Gail (5’8” 140, MF, Ormond Beach, FL), a teammate of Francis at Flagler Palm Coast HS, helped to lead FPC to State and National Championships in 2000 while advancing the team to a state runner-up and eighth place national ranking in 2001. Gail received numerous honors including three-time all-area and all-conference recognition, beginning in 1999. The four-year letterman also played on numerous Olympic Development Programs (ODP), as a member of the ODP Region III Team since 1998. Gail also received elite recognition, when he participated in the 2001 ESP Camp and was
named to the ESP Camp All-star Team. Gail joined his high school
teammate Francis, in playing for the Flagler Dawgs Club Team, which
earned state runner-up honors in 2000.

Jon Peterson (5’10” 165, MF, Wassenaar, the Netherlands), a
two-year captain of his high school team, led his team to two straight
International School Soccer Tournament (ISST) appearances,
winning the first year, in London England. The ISST’s consist of teams
from the major European countries, as well as African countries. Jon
led the team in goal scoring and in assists his sophomore season
and earned varsity letters in both his freshman and sophomore years.
After his sophomore season, a national club team, the U.V.S.,
Leiden, of the Netherlands, recruited Jon. He competed at the second
tier of the “Hoofdekias”, the highest division of youth soccer in
Holland, at the U-17 and U-19 levels. Jon led the U-17 team in assists
while leading the U-19 team in defense. European soccer fans may
best know the level of competition, as the UVS faced teams like
Feyenoord, Sparta of Rotterdam, NEC, and Excelsior weekly.

Ryan Abraham (5’10” 148, MF, Diego Martin, Trinidad), led his high school team, St. Mary’s College, to two consecutive championships. Was captain of U-14 and U-16 Teams, and scored 11 goals during his team’s championship runs. Also competed for the Joe Public F.C. Club team.

The five talented recruits join an already talented and deep South Florida team, that only lost three players from its 2001 squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA’s. The 2002 Bulls team will look to improve their 15 wins from a year ago with veteran leadership and youth. The team will consist of two NSCAA All-South Region members, and several other players that received All-C-USA honors.