With the college soccer season coming to a close, let’s take a look at which former Earthquakes Academy stars are making moves at the next level. Below is a comprehensive summary of the last week of action, including many season finales and conference tournament matches.
Freshman John-Austin Ricks started and helped Syracuse advance to the quarterfinals of the 2016 ACC Men’s Soccer Championships with a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh on Nov. 2. He also appeared off the bench against Clemson on Nov. 6, with the Orange falling in penalties. Ricks appeared in all 18 games, scoring one goal.
Sophomore Amir Bashti helped Stanford claim their third consecutive Pac-12 Conference championship and earn an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. Stanford closes out the regular season against Cal this Friday in Berkeley (1 p.m.). Bashti tallied one goal and two assists, while playing in all 17 games this season. The Golden Bears have a trio of Earthquakes Academy products as well, with junior center back Josh Morton, senior right back Nick Lima and freshman goalkeeper Drake Callender suiting up for the University of California. Lima started 15 games, recording four goals and an assist. Morton registered one assist in 15 starts. Callender made 31 saves in six appearances (five starts).
Sophomore goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and Georgetown fell to Creighton 3-0 on Nov. 3, ending their season. Marcinkowski started 15 of the team’s 17 matches in 2016.
The San Jose State Spartans and their trio of Quakes Academy players – sophomores Jonathan Partida and Zach Penner and freshman Suliman Khorami – saw their season come to an end on Nov. 5 with a 2-1 loss to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Partida made 13 starts in 15 total appearances, Penner scored two goals in seven starts and Khorami finished with a team-high six assists.
A host of former Quakes helped Saint Mary’s earn a 3-1 win over Gonzaga on Nov. 6. Freshman midfielder Marcus Simmons, Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Remi Prieur and junior midfielder Max Mirner close out their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 12 against Portland, with a West Coast Conference title still in play. The Gaels need a win and a Pacific draw or loss on the road against Gonzaga. Simmons appeared in six matches, Prieur allowed eight goals in eight appearances (seven starts) and Mirner tallied one goal and one assist in 16 starts.
Freshman defender Alex Fluitt and the Chico State Wildcats closed out the regular season with a 7-1 record in their last eight games, but fell to Cal State San Bernadino 1-0 in the first round of the CCAA tournament on Nov. 1. He tallied a team-high four assists, despite starting in just six of his 13 appearances.
The Cal State Fullerton Titans and freshman forward Rei Dorwart capped off their season with a 3-1 win over the University of San Diego on Nov. 2. Dorwart tallied his first collegiate goal in the regular season finale. The Titans then defeated UC Davis by way of a penalty shootout on Nov. 5 in the first round of the Big West Tournament and now set their sights on the semifinals against UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. A win puts them in the final against either Sacramento State or Cal State Northridge on Saturday, Nov. 12. He made 21 appearances (seven starts) and tallied one goal and two assists. UCSB features a Quakes product of their own in junior defender Alex Liua, who appeared in 14 matches in 2016. The Gauchos finished with a 6-1-3 record in conference play.
Junior midfielder/forward Josh Totte and the Yale Bulldogs fell to Brown University 3-1 on Nov. 5. Yale wraps up the season on Saturday, Nov. 12 against Princeton at 1 p.m. PT. Totte recorded one assist in 15 appearances.
Southern Methodist University and junior midfielder Bryce Clark finish the 2016 season on Nov. 5 against UCONN. Clark tallied four assists while appearing in all 16 matches to date.
Freshman midfielder Rory Birse and the Holy Cross Crusaders closed out the season with a 1-0 loss against Loyola Maryland on Nov. 5. Birse recorded two assists in eight appearances.
Seattle University and freshman forward Matthew Korpontinos capped off the regular season with a 1-0 loss against Air Force on Nov 5. The Redhawks now turn their attention to the Western Athletic Conference tournament, where they will face either Air Force or Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Nov. 11 in the semifinals. Korpontinos did not appear in a match during his freshman season.
Junior midfielder Juan Velazquez fell to the University of Vermont 2-0 in their season finale on Nov. 2 and were later eliminated from the America East tournament with a 2-1 loss to the University of Hartford on Nov. 5. He appeared in 14 matches, making 13 starts and scoring two goals during the season.
Redshirt sophomore defender/midfielder Bernardo Carabelli and the Stetson University Hatters fell to Lipscomb 3-0 on Nov. 3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. Carabelli was named to the ASUN Conference Academic Honor Roll earlier in the season.
Freshman forward Diego Alonso and the Cal Poly Mustangs were idle, having ended their season on Oct. 29. Despite finishing the year with a 5-9-3 record, the Mustangs closed out 2016 undefeated in their last three, including wins over Sac State and UC Davis and a scoreless draw with UCSB. Cal Poly missed out on the Big West tourney by one point. Alonso appeared in nine matches.
Other Quakes Academy products and their teams that were idle include UC Irvine freshman defender Armon Ojuola (17 GP) and sophomore defender Jorge Lara (12 GP, one goal), San Francisco State freshman forward Richard Leon (17 GP, team-high seven goals), Cal State Stanislaus sophomore defender Desmond Madrigal (17 GP, one goal) and Cal State East Bay sophomore forward Yousef Diyab (one GP).
