Bronx, N.Y. – (June 13, 2023) – Fordham head coach
Carlo Acquista announced 11 more roster additions to the 2023 Fordham men's soccer team.
This brings the total of newcomers to 15, as
Murat Calkap (Demarest, N.J./Met Oval Academy (Wisconsin)),
Kai Griese (Regensdorf, Germany/Isarnwohld-Schule (UConn),
Grady Kozak (Middleton, Mass./Masconomet (Cal Baptist)), and
Georgios Kantaras (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) joined the Rams during the spring.
The 11 new players are
Carter Abbott (Wauwatosa, Wisc./Marquette Univ. HS (Wisconsin)),
Sigfus Arnason (Reykjavik, Iceland/Reykjavik Junior College (Yale)),
Harper Cook (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hampton (Duquesne),
Jimmy Joyce (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna (Holy Cross),
Louis Lehr (Dielheim, Germany/Ottheinrich Gymnasium (George Mason)),
Luis Puchol (Geneva, Switzerland/College Du Leman (La Salle)),
Liam Salmon (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern Collegiate Institute (Marist)),
Shizu Yohena (Okinawa, Japan/Shizuoka Gakuen (Massachusetts)),
Niko Cappellini (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck),
Leo Perelman (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville), and
Maclin Stover (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan/Detroit Country Day).
Abbott was the starting goalkeeper at Wisconsin last season, going 6-6-4 with a 1.11 goals against average with five shutouts. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, he appeared in a total of 35 games over three seasons with the Badgers and was a part of 11 shutouts, earning Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors once. Prior to his time in Madison, Abbott was the 2018 Wisconsin High School State Player of the Year at Marquette University High School, becoming the first goalkeeper in 17 years to win that award.
Arnason was a three-year starter at Yale, starting 45 of 50 games he appeared in since 2019. A 2022 CSC Academic All-District selection, he totaled four goals and 12 assists for the Bulldogs in his career and earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors once. He was a part of Yale's 2019 Ivy League Championship team and played over 900 minutes in each of his three seasons in New Haven. Before Yale, Arnason played in Iceland for Vikingur U-19, where he was a three-year starter, helping the team win the Icelandic U-19 B Division in 2018 and the Icelandic Cup final in 2017.
Cook spent the last two seasons at Duquesne, playing in all 38 games for the Dukes, after two years at American University. With the Dukes, he started 33 games, recorded one assist, and was a CSC Academic All-District selection in 2022. At American, Cook was a member of the 2020-21 Patriot League Championship team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Joyce comes to Rose Hill after serving as a goalkeeper at Holy Cross, where he finished fifth in career goals against average for the Crusaders at 1.50. A four-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, he recorded seven wins and four shutouts in Worcester and earned Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors once. Before Holy Cross, Joyce was a standout goalkeeper at Niskayuna High School, where he was the 2018 New York State Section II Goalkeeper of the Year, a United Soccer Coaches All-Region selection, and Third Team All-New York State.
Lehr is another player with Atlantic 10 experience, as he spent the last three years at George Mason. He started 26 of the 32 games over the past two seasons, netting five goals and playing over 2,400 minutes. A two-time member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Dean's List, he served as one of George Mason's team captains in 2022. Prior to his time in Fairfax, Lehr was captain of SV Sandhausen U19 in Germany.
Puchol also has Atlantic 10 ties, playing for La Salle. Over the course of four seasons, he started 51 of the 56 games he appeared in, netting two goals and two assists from his defender position. Racking up over 4,600 career minutes played, he served as a team captain in 2022, scored the first two goals of his career, and was named the team's Defensive MVP. Prior to La Salle, Puchol was a two-year captain at College Du Leman, winning the 2018 Varsity Swiss Championship.
Salmon played the previous four years at Marist College, where he was twice named to the MAAC All-Academic Team. In 2022, he started 15 of 16 games, setting career-highs with two goals and six points and was a CSC Academic All-District selection. In all, he appeared in 49 games for the Red Foxes, totaling three goals and four assists. Prior to Marist, Salmon was the team captain and player of the year for Ajax FC.
Yohena comes to the Bronx after two seasons in Amherst, Massachusetts, playing for the Massachusetts Minutemen. Over that time, he played in 29 games with two goals and three assists. One of his two goals came against Fordham last season in a 2-2 draw at Jack Coffey Field. Before his time at UMass, he played for Shizuoka Gakuen High School in Japan, as well as for the San Diego Zest in USL League 2. He scored four goals and three assists in 11 games for the San Diego Zest, helping them earn Team of the Year in the Western Conference of the USL League 2.
Cappellini was a four-year varsity soccer player at Colts Neck High School in New Jersey, where he served as team captain and helped the team to its first Division Championship in over a decade. He played club soccer for Future Soccer Academy, which won the U-18 State Cup Championship.
Perelman is a graduate of Tottenville High School on Staten Island, where he played one season and was a member of the National Honor Society. Since that first season at Tottenville, he has played club soccer for Cedar Stars Academy Monmouth in MLS NEXT. He helped the team qualify for the 2022 MLS NEXT Cup playoff in Dallas for the first time in six years, as well as finish in first place in MLS NEXT Flex in Maryland, where he conceded just one goal in three games, while defeating Houston Dynamo and Wake FC. Additionally, Perelman trained in England with West Ham United U19 B and played against Fulham FC U17. Currently, he is a member of Westchester United FC, where he played in the U20 Viareggio Cup 2023 in Italy.
Stover is a graduate of Detroit Country Day School in Bloomfield, Michigan, where he played both soccer and lacrosse. For his one season of soccer, he earned All-State, All-Region, and All-District honors as a freshman. After that, he joined Vardar for club soccer, where he was an All-Region ECNL selection, before moving on to DA/MLS NEXT with Vardar.
