Old Dominion University men’s soccer team signs 13 newcomers

NORFOLK, Va. – Head coach Alan Dawson and the Old Dominion University men’s soccer program announced the Monarchs’ 2022 spring signee class of 13 players.

The incoming recruiting class joins midyear enrollees Michael Statham, Nicola Missiroli and Aaron McNally to complete the recruiting class.

“This recruiting class is one of our deepest groups of talented young men in many years. The group addresses much needed size and speed. What sets it apart though is its physical and mental maturity,” Dawson said.  “This class is ready to compete now and will give us a chance to win in an extremely competitive Sun Belt Conference.”

Alexis Lamontagne
Position: Midfielder
Hometown: Quebec, Canada
Previous Team: Casper CC
DAWSON ON LAMONTAGNE: “Alexis is an athletic and dynamic midfielder and someone who has plenty of college minutes under his belt coming from Casper Junior College. We are excited to add him to our midfield group and expect him to contribute right away.”

Fabian Rieser
Position: Defender
Hometown: Innsbruck, Austria
Previous Team: SC Schwaz
DAWSON ON RIESER: “Fabian is a big, athletic defender joining us from Austria. He has everything we look for in a defender from both a physical and technical standpoint. He is comfortable on the ball and we expect him to be an impact player for us over the next few years.”

Liam Thomas
Position: Forward
Hometown: London, England
Previous Team: Shrewsbury Town
DAWSON ON THOMAS: “Liam is everything you look for in a modern-day winger. He plays with pace, power and can beat people on the dribble. Liam adds a dynamic to our forward line that we have missed over the last few years and expect him to contribute on the offensive side of the ball from day one.”

Tristan Jenkins
Position: Forward
Hometown: Llanelli, Wales
Previous Team: Ammanford Town
DAWSON ON JENKINS: “Tristan is an extremely experienced forward who has scored goals at every level he has played at. He is a natural goal scorer and is instinctive in front of goal. We are excited to get him here to ODU and expect him to score plenty of goals for us the next few seasons.”

Jonas Schmalbach
Position: Forward
Hometown: Venice, Italy
Previous Team: UCF
DAWSON ON SCHMALBACH: “Jonas is a player that ticks all of the boxes for us. His attributes as a forward who can play with his back to goal and ability to stretch teams in behind gives us great versatility up front. This coupled with his experience as a transfer from UCF, we think he can do big things for us here in a Monarch shirt.”

Jan Marpe
Position: Defender
Hometown: Haltern Am See, Germany
Previous Team: St Mary’s (CA)
DAWSON ON MARPE” “Jan joins us from St Mary’s (CA) after a fantastic freshman season where he was named to the WCC All Freshman Team. He is a modern-day fullback who offers a lot for us on both sides of the ball. We think he will complement our back four extremely well and are excited to have him here at ODU.”

Louis Beckett
Position: Midfielder
Hometown: Bridlington, England
Previous Team: Hull City
DAWSON ON BECKETT: “Louis is someone who came highly recommended to us by numerous people in England and is a true box to box midfielder. He is a player we expect to have a big impact for us the next 4 years and a player who can contribute right away on both sides of the ball.”

Samuel Kristinsson
Position: Defender
Hometown: Reykjavik, Iceland
Previous Team: KV
DAWSON ON KRISTINSSON: “Samuel is a big, athletic and extremely experienced defender joining us from Iceland. He is a player who can be a dominant force at the back for us and expect him to be a big piece of our backline for years to come.”

Joshua Fox
Position: Defender
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Previous Team: Orlando City
DAWSON ON FOX: “Josh is another modern-day type of defender joining us from Orlando City FC. He is a fantastic defender but also extremely composed on the ball. We are excited to add him to our defensive ranks and is another player we are excited to have with us for the next four years.”

Michael Eberle
Position: Forward
Hometown: Dumfries, Virginia
Previous Team: VDA
DAWSON ON EBERLE: “Mikey is a player we have tracked for a long time. He has scored a ton of goals at the youth level for VDA and we are excited to have him here at ODU. He is an athletic and tenacious forward who has proven he can score goals and we expect him to continue in the college game.”

Gavin Dooren
Position: Forward
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Previous Team: Beach FC
DAWSON ON DOOREN: “Gavin is a local Hampton Roads talent and someone we are excited to be keeping home. He is an athletic and extremely hard-working forward who we are excited to see in a Monarch shirt!”

Aaron Deans
Position: Defender
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Previous Team: Beach FC
DAWSON ON DEANS: “Aaron is another local Hampton Roads talent and like Gavin we are delighted to be keeping him home here at ODU. He is a fantastic size and is an extremely physical defender who we are excited to have with us for the next four years.”

Ryan Mahon
Position: Forward
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Previous Team: George Mason
DAWSON ON MAHON: “Ryan is another local Hampton Roads player who is returning home to us after his freshman season at George Mason. He has college minutes under his belt and is an attacking player with positional flexibility who we think will help us right away.”