Duke introduces signing class featuring 5 freshmen and 3 transfers

DURHAM – Duke men’s soccer has made eight additions to its roster ahead of the upcoming 2023 season, with the signing of five incoming freshmen and three transfers from other Division I programs.

Julian Eyestone – Goalkeeper

Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: Lone Star
Club: FC Dallas

Eyestone, consistently ranked as a top goalkeeper nationally in the class of 2024, joins the Blue Devils as the No. 3 goalkeeper nationally after reclassifying to the class of 2023. Standing tall at 6-foot-6, the Dallas, Texas native has played for the FC Dallas Academy since 2017. He began training with FC Dallas’ first team at age 15 and made his match debut for FC Dallas’ second team, North Texas SC, at age 16. Eyestone has made eight starts for North Texas SC – including seven so far in 2023 – and was named Man of the Match after a 90th minute penalty save in the 2023 season opener. He was named the 2023 Generation adidas Cup Best Goalkeeper in April and earned his first call up to the United States U17 Men’s National Team in 2020 at the age of 15. Eyestone added to his recent accolades by being named to the MLS NEXT All-Star match roster at the end of June and to the U17 MLS NEXT Best XI by Prep Soccer

Úlfur Björnsson – Forward

Hometown: Hafnafjörður, Iceland
High School: Verzlunarskólinn
Club: FH Hafnarfjördur/U21 National Team

Björnsson becomes the fourth player from Iceland to play for the Blue Devils in the last four years following Kristófer Garðarsson, Thorleifur Úlfarsson and Axel Guðbjörnsson. He most recently played for Icelandic club FH Hafnarfjördur, where he made 10 total starts in 12 appearances in league play, scoring six goals – including two braces in less than a month. In Iceland’s domestic cup, Björnsson helped lead FH Hafnarfjördur to the quarterfinals while scoring two goals in three games. The forward has also appeared for Iceland’s U21 national team three times.

Nikolai Ronaldo Bull Jørgensen

Hometown: Asker, Norway
High School: NTG Kongsvinger
Club: Kongsvinger TF

The second international addition by the Blue Devils for the 2023 season, Jørgensen arrives in Durham after most recently playing for Kongsvinger TF at the club level. He has made 10 total appearances for the club since joining in 2021, including three this past season. The attacker began playing for Kongsvinger TF at the academy level, and also played for Holmen IF and Bærum SK at the academy level.

Nathan Gaviser – Goalkeeper

Hometown: Edgemont, N.Y.
High School: Edgemont
Club: FC Westchester

Gavisier joins the Blue Devils with six years of club experience, including two stints with MLS NEXT side FC Westchester (2018-20, 2022-23) and two years playing for the NYCFC Academy team. During his time at FC Westchester, he helped the team with their group at the MLS Next Flex Event and a playoff appearance. During his time with NYCFC, the team once again topped the group in the MLS Next Flex Event in 2022 and he was invited to train with both of NYCFC’s first and second teams on several occasions, featuring in two friendlies with the second team. Born in London, England, Gaviser is the fourth Blue Devil in his family, joining his mother and two sisters – class of 1992, 2022 and 2024, respectively.

Andrew Myerson – Midfielder/Defender

Hometown: Issaquah, Wash.
High School: Issaquah
Club: Barça Residency Academy

Myerson became the first freshman in seven years to make the Issaquah High School varsity team and finished his high school career with six goals and two assists while serving as the team captain during his senior season. At the club level, he spent last year playing for the Barça Residency Academy, where the U19 team was ranked No. 1 in the United States by TopDrawerSoccer, won the group at the MLS NEXT Flex Event and won the group at the MLS NEXT Fest Showcase. Myerson also has club experience with Eastside FC 04 ECNL (2015-22) and Washington ODP (2018-20). He has two family members who attended Duke – his father and uncle – class of 1992 and 1996, respectively.

Forster Ajago – Forward

Hometown: Navrongo, Ghana
Previous School: Dayton

After starting his collegiate career at Delaware and then playing two seasons for the Dayton Flyers, Ajago joins the Blue Devils for the 2023 season. The striker was named Second Team All-Conference and First Team All-Ohio following last season, when he led the team in goals (7), points (17) and shots on goal (20). He played a total of 35 games for the Flyers, starting 30 of them, and finished each season with over 1,000 minutes played. Ajago currently plays for USL League Two side Tobacco Road FC, where he has scored a team-high seven goals in seven games played. Prior to his arrival in the United States, the striker was called up to the Ghana National U17 team, the Black Starlets, in 2018.

Cameron Fisher – Midfielder

Hometown: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Previous School: North Carolina

Fisher joins the 2023 Duke squad after four seasons with North Carolina in which he played in a total of 54 matches. The midfielder made 18 total starts, including 10 in his senior season, while playing a total of just over 2,000 minutes during his career as a Tar Heel. During his junior year, Fisher appeared in 19 matches, making eight starts and finishing third on the team with 12 points from five goals and two assists. He closed out his senior season by making five consecutive starts and played a career-high 85 minutes while setting up the game-winning goal against Boston College in his final regular season match as a Tar Heel. Fisher is joined by his new teammate Andrew Myerson as products of the Barça Residency Academy.

Fahmi Ibrahim

Hometown: Alameda, Calif.
Previous School: California

A four-time Academic Honor Roll member, Ibrahim arrives in Durham after four seasons with the California Bears. He appeared in a total of 48 matches for Cal and made 12 starts. Last season, Ibrahim was the top goal-scorer on the team and was a Pac-12 Honorable Mention after setting career highs in matches played (15), starts (11), goals (7), points (14), shots (22), shots on goal (13) and tallying his first career game-winning goal. Prior to his arrival at Cal, the forward played for MLS side San Jose Earthquakes’ Academy, where he was the Academy’s top goal-scorer on the U18/19 team.

The Blue Devils open their regular season on August 25 inside Koskinen Stadium, taking on Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. Duke is coming off a 2022 campaign that included an undefeated regular season, an appearance in the NCAA national quarterfinals and a final ranking of No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches’ poll.