Bobby Muss: Wake Forest Men’s Soccer 2016 Recruiting Class ‘one of the best in the nation’
Wake Forest Men’s Soccer Head Coach Bobby Muss has already had quite an impact on the University’s soccer program in his one year at the helm, and Muss looks poised to try to repeat his success next season. February 5th, 2016 was national signing days for high school senior soccer prospects to declare where they plan to lace up their cleats and play soccer for the next four years of their athletic careers.
Since suffering a loss to Stanford in the Elite Eight of the 2015 College Cup NCAA tournament, Muss and his team of coaches and recruiters have been actively pursuing new talent. This is an especially difficult task considering the loss of starters Jack Harrison and Michael Gamble, who went first and 30th overall respectively in this year’s MLS draft.
Despite the losses of these key contributors, Muss seems confident that the returning players and the upcoming new talent will be adequate to maintain their success and grow as the team moves forward. “I am extremely excited about this 2016 recruiting class… [this is] one of the best recruiting classes in the nation.”
The student atmosphere surrounding the Men’s Soccer Program grew significantly last year with the team maintaining the #1 ranking in the NCAA for more than three weeks leading into the College Cup, so there was considerable excitement surrounding the new signing class.
“Oh yeah, we got that Brazilian guy who’s supposed to be amazing!” shouted junior Khaki Wade about 2016 signee Bruno Lapa when asked if she had heard any news about Signing Day.
Lapa is one of the most highly coveted young players to come to the United States to pursue a career in college soccer. Often, foreign players forgo an American college experience to sign with a professional club, which makes this signing especially significant for Muss and the team.
Lapa follows in the footsteps of Jack Harrison, a native of England, to choose Wake Forest for his college soccer career.
“I’m really excited about Lapa,” said sophomore soccer player Matt Szucs. “Brazilians are always so fun to watch and I really think this kid’s going to fill some of the holes left by Michael [Gamble] and Jack [Harrison].”
Joining Lapa in the class of 2020, will be Ema Twumasi of Connecticut, Joey DeZart of New Jersey, Thomas Menke of Texas, and Mike DeShields of Maryland.
And it looks like the class is only going to get bigger. “We are looking forward to announcing a few more very talented players joining this class over the next few weeks the will continue to strengthen [this] class,” commented coach Muss shortly after the last signee signed his letter of intent.
Considering the success the team had last season and the confidence of Coach Muss in the incoming recruiting class, the Demon Deacons should be a top 10 team in college soccer for this 2016 season.
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