Feb. 26, 2018
SAN DIEGO -SDSU men's soccer head coach Lev Kirshner has signed 11 players to National Letters of Intent to bolster the 2018 roster. The incoming class is split between seven college transfers and four freshmen.
"This is another outstanding class that is not only talented but more importantly lives by our program's core values," stated Kirshner. "This is a very safe statement as most of the class is already on our campus proving this on a daily basis."
The incoming class includes a pair of players who have earned All-American status in either high school or junior college, four players who earned MVP or Player of the Year in their respective high school or junior college conference, and three players who have experience working with their respective national team development programs.
Garrett Amador -Junior - Defense - 5'10 - 170 - Anaheim, Calif. - Loyola Marymount/Servite HS
Named a 2016 All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team member… Tied for second on LMU's squad with three goals… Played in 18 games as a true freshman… Named WCC Player of the Week on Oct. 17, 2016… Played three years of varsity soccer at Servite HS, including serving as team captain his senior year… Three-time All-League and All-County honoree… Two-time All-CIF First Team selection… Led Servite to three Trinity League Championships… Two-time Team Offensive MVP… Played for Strikers FC Academy from 2014-15 and the Strikers FC 98 McManus from 2012-2014 and 2016… National Honors Society member in high school.
Hampus Bergdahl - Junior - Defense - 6'0" - 184 - Asarum, Sweden - Syracuse/Furulundskola
Played in six matches for Syracuse in 2017, including ending the season with five consecutive starts… Member of the Athletic Director's honor roll in the spring of his freshman year… Captained the Asarums IF youth team in the Swedish Premier U17, U19 and U21 leagues… Played for Mjallby AIF Superettan team… Was a member of the Swedish National Team for the 1995 age group.
Brandon Cerda - Freshman - Midfielder - 5'10" - 166 - Mansfield, Texas - Lake Ridge HS
Has scored 45 goals and recorded 28 assists over varsity career at Lake Ridge HS… Played club soccer for the Dallas Texans. .. Captained Lake Ridge HS team his senior year…Received All-League MVP honors junior year… Earned All-Region First Team midfielder honors as a junior… Named All-League Newcomer of the Year as a freshman… Won back-to-back North Texas State Cup championships in 2015 & 2016 in addition to being a state finalist in 2017.
Arturo Chavez - Freshman - Midfielder - 5'11 - 165 - Mission Viejo, Calif. - El Toro HS
Played one year of varsity soccer at El Toro HS… Played for Strikers FC U from 2015-2018… Played in 15 games with 12 starts for Strikers FC U-18/19 in 2017-18… Also played with LA Galaxy U-15/16 in 2015-16… Attended a U.S. National Team camp in 2015.
Kyle Colonna - Freshman - Defense - 6'3" - 175 - Danville, Calif. - Monte Vista HS
Played two years of varsity soccer at Monte Vista HS… Named to All-League EBAL First Team… Led team to North Coast Section Championship and earned NCS Championship MVP… Played club soccer for De Anza Force SC… Scored 14 goals over two varsity seasons, including 11 as a junior.
Andre Gamboa - Junior - Forward - 5'10" - 155 - Diamond Bar, Calif. - Mt. San Antonio College/Diamond Bar HS
Led Mt. San Antonio with 13 goals in 2017 while adding nine assists…Named CCCAA Offensive MVP in sophomore season at Mt. SAC… Posted the second most points on Mt. SAC team with 35… Registered a two-goal performance against College of Southern Nevada on Sept. 16… Tallied five game-winning goals… Led team to the CCCAA State Championship Final Four… Scored game-winner in a 1-0 win over Santa Barbara CC in Southern California Regional Finals… Registered six goals as a freshman, helping Mt. SAC to its fifth CCCAA State Championship…Was a two-time All-League Most Valuable Player at Diamond Bar High School… Currently holds the single-season goals record at Diamond Bar HS with 22 goals and 10 assists in 18 games… Two-time team offensive most valuable player… Named to the All-Valley First Team twice.
Robby Jacobs - Junior - Forward - 5'9" - 156 - Colorado Springs, Colo. - Clemson/The Classical Academy
Played freshman and sophomore seasons at Clemson University… Played in 10 games as a sophomore, recording a goal and an assist with four shots… Played in two games as a freshman… Helped Clemson reach the NCAA Tournament both years… Named to Academic Honor Roll… Played two years of varsity soccer at The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. … Led team to the state final and academy playoffs… Named to honor roll in high school… Named to All-City, All-State and All-League teams twice each… Named team MVP as a senior.
Keegan Kelly - Sophomore - 5'9 - 135 - Baltimore, Md. - Maryland/McDonogh HS
Ranked No. 9 by College Soccer News and No. 28 by Top Drawer Soccer among class of 2015 high school players… Also ranked a top 10 midfielder by Trop Drawer Soccer… Member of Soccer U17 Residency Program… Named All-American in 2014 and 2015 while being named an All-Metro and All-County selection three times… Went undefeated in MIAA championship run in 2013 at McDonogh HS… US Soccer national champions as a member of Celtic Soccer Club in Baltimore in 2014 and a semifinalist in 2015… Appeared in 17 matches as a freshman at Maryland… Helped Maryland to an unbeaten regular season at 16-0-2, including a program-record 15-game winning streak.
Edwin Quiroz - Junior - Midfielder - 5'9" - 145 - Lancaster, Calif. - Northwest Nazarene/Cal State Northridge/Eastside HS
Scored one goal with seven assists as a sophomore at Northwest Nazarene… As a freshman at CSUN, played in all 21 matches with 15 starts… Named to 2016 Big West Conference All-Freshman Team… Posted two goals and one assist as a freshman… Played two years of varsity soccer at Eastside HS… Earned US National Team call-ups with U15 and U16 teams… Won a Disney Cup and national championship with LA Premier in 2016… Spent time with England's Fulham premiership academy team.
AJ Valenzuela - Junior - Midfielder - 6'3" - 180 - Tucson, Ariz. - Pima CC/Desert View HS
Named an NJCAA and United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American at Pima CC… Also earned ACAC Conference Player of the Year honors… Tallied five goals and five assists over 44 career games played at Pima CC… Led team to the NJCCA DI Championship Semifinals as a sophomore in 2017… Team recorded a 19-5-3 record on its way to semifinals… Led team to a Region I, Division I Championship as a freshman with the team recording an 18-3-1 record… Recorded a career-high three points against Chandler-Gilbert CC on Oct. 10, 2017.
Esteban Zepeda - Freshman - Defense - 6'0" - 145 - Roseville, Calif. - Lincoln HS
Played one year of varsity soccer at Lincoln HS where he earned Pioneer Valley All-League First Team honors… Led team to a PVL Championship… Earned Honors Chord status after earning a 3.5 grade point average all four years of high school… Played club soccer with Sacramento Republic FC from 2015-18… Recently saw minutes with first team with Sacramento Republic in a friendly against the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer.