FARMVILLE, Va. — First-year Longwood men's soccer head coach Paul Gilbert has brought in no fewer than 21 newcomers to bolster the 2024 roster, he announced Wednesday.
Twelve players have previous collegiate soccer experience, including half of them seeing time at the NCAA Division I level.
Joining the Lancers this season are David Ambaek (Copenhagen, Denmark/Niels Brock Business College/Indiana Tech), Aaron Asamoah (Worms, Germany/Technik II Ludwigshafen/Indiana Tech), Brando Bedolla (Greenville, S.C./Odyssey Online Learning), Alexandre Bouchet (Oaken, Va./James Madison Online), Diego Diaz (Woodbridge, Va./Freedom), Tor Fletcher (El Dorado, Trinidad and Tobago/Fatima College), Mikey Hernandez (Burlington, N.C./Western Alamance/UNC Wilmington), Aristhid Kamdjin (Washington, D.C./College Guy Moquet (France)), Javin King (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax/VCU), Markus Krogstad (Skien, Norway/Toppidrettsgymnaset i Telemark/Indiana Tech), Jesus Macaya (Pamplona, Spain/IES Navarro Villoslada/Cumberlands (Ky.)), Nate Miller (Lakeland, Fla./McKeel Academy of Technology), Mateo Nance (Madrid, Spain/Aquinas American School/ Radford), Jayce Pagano (Hamilton, N.J./Allentown), Simba Pelletier (Springfield, Mass./Pope Francis Preparatory School/American International), Muazu Sagir (Covington, Ga./Alpharetta/Coastal Carolina/Western Illinois), Ezrah Serralde (San Ramon, Calif./California/De Anza College), Joaquin Sonez (La Plata, Argentina/Balboa Academy), Angel Valdez (Mexicali, Mexico/University Center for Football and Sports Science), Anthony Vargas (Heredia, Costa Rica/Colegio Técnico Profesional de Flores/Incarnate Word) and Diego Vargas (Winterthur, Switzerland/Kantonsschule Rvchenberg/Binghamton/Cal State LA).
"We are so excited to welcome our staff's first recruiting class to Longwood," Gilbert said. "I would first like to thank my staff and all the people working behind the scenes to make this recruiting class come together. It is never easy to bring in a large number of new players.
"When we started in January 2024 our goal was to do two things: teach the current players our principles and to bring in a group a players that fit our game model. Over the past six months, we have been able to do both, setting a strong foundation for the Longwood men's soccer program. I am very excited to see this grow individually and collectively excelling in all aspects of the student-athlete experience."
David Ambaek
6-2 • 180 • M/D
Copenhagen, Denmark
Niels Brock Business College
Indiana Tech
Ambaek played two seasons (2022-23) for Gilbert and assistant coach Yuriy Sadula at NAIA Indiana Tech. He helped the Warriors to a two-year 26-7-13 record, including a pair of NAIA tournament appearances.
Ambaek played 26 career matches with 20 starts, scoring four goals and one assist for nine points. He was named to the 2023 All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference First Team, also earning WHAC all-academic team honors as a sophomore.
Aaron Asamoah
5-7 • 160 • M
Worms, Germany/BBS Technik II Ludwigshafen
Indiana Tech
Asamoah played two seasons (2022-23) for Gilbert and Sadula at NAIA Indiana Tech. He helped the Warriors to a two-year 26-7-13 record, including a pair of NAIA tournament appearances.
He appeared in 35 career matches with 33 starts, scoring three goals and four assists for 10 points. Asamoah was a two-time all-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference selection, earning first-team plaudits as a freshman in 2022 and second team as sophomore.
Asamoah was named to the WHAC All-Newcomer Team as a freshman, as well, and the league's all-academic team as a sophomore.
Brando Bedolla
5-9 • 145 • F
Greenville, S.C.
Odyssey Online Learning
Bedolla played two seasons of high school soccer at Southside High School in Greenville, S.C., scoring 25 goals as a freshman to earn team MVP honors. He finished his prep career playing club soccer for teams including Carolina Elite, CLTFC Academy and Crown Legacy FC.
Alexandre Bouchet
6-4 • 170 • D
Oakton, Va.
James Madison Online
A dual citizen of the United States and France, Bouchet played for the Paris-Saint Germain Academy Pro in Publier, France. The team is linked with the professional team of Thonon Evian Grand Genève FC.
Bouchet played against some of the best U17 and U18 teams in France, including Paris-Saint Germain, Grenoble, Olympique Lyonnais, and Bourg-en-Bresse. He was the youngest in the academy to train with the Thonon Evian Grand Genève FC reserves and was selected to start for the club's U20 team.
Diego Diaz
5-9 • 160 • F
Woodbridge, Va.
Freedom
Diaz played soccer at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Va. He scored seven goals and five assists in six matches as a junior in 2022.
Tor Fletcher
6-2 • 167 • GK
El Dorado, Trinidad and Tobago
Fatima College
Fletcher received five letters playing soccer at Fatima College, graduating last spring. He also earned a call up to the under-20 Trinidad and Tobago national team.
Mikey Hernandez
5-8 • 150 • D
Burlington, N.C.
Western Alamance
UNC Wilmington
Hernandez was enrolled at UNC Wilmington from 2022-23. He appeared in three matches for the Seahawks as a freshman in 2022, playing a combined 55 minutes against UNC Greensboro (Aug. 28), at George Mason (Oct. 18) and versus Campbell (Oct. 25). Hernandez did not see match action in 2023, redshirting the season.
He prepped at Western Alamance High School in Burlington, N.C., posting eight goals and 24 assists in four years for the Warriors.
Hernandez played for the FC Fusion club under coach Mark Simpson, netting two goals with eight assists in 2021.
Aristhid Kamdjin
5-9 • 160 • D
Washington, D.C.
College Guy Moquet (France)
Born in Washington, D.C., Kamdjin holds dual citizenship in the United States and France. A graduate of College Guy Moquet in Villejuif, France, he last played for Châtteaubriant in 2023-24. The team is part of the fourth tier of Champioionnat National 2.
Javin King
5-10 • 160 • D
Fredericksburg, Va.
Massaponax
VCU
King spent the 2023 season at VCU, appearing in one match for the Rams. He played 30 minutes at Missouri State on Sept. 9.
He is a graduate of Massaponax High School in 2023, playing soccer for the Panthers for four seasons. King was a Three-time all-district selection and named 2023 district player of the year. He also earned an all-area honor in 2022 and helped Massaponax to the 2021 district championship.
King played club for Fredericksburg FC Pro.
Markus Krogstad
6-2 • 210 • F
Skien, Norway
Toppidrettsgymnaset i Telemark
Indiana Tech
A third member of Gilbert and Sadula's squad at Indiana Tech, Krogstad spent the 2023 season in Fort Wayne, Ind., but did not see game action.
Jesus Macaya
6-0 • 157 • M
Pamplona, Spain
IES Navarro Villoslada
Cumberlands (Ky.)
Macaya played his freshman season at Cumberlands, an NAIA institution in Williamsburg, Ky. He helped the Patriots to the first round of the NAIA tournament, finishing 7-4-5 overall.
Macaya started all 16 matches, logging 1,163 minutes. He tallied three goals and four assists for 10 points. He scored a season-high two goals in his first collegiate match on Aug. 19 versus Union (Ky.) and was named Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 21.
Macaya prepped two years at IES Navarro Villoslada in Pamplona, Spain from 2020-21.
Nate Miller
6-3 • 190 • GK
Lakeland, Fla.
McKeel Academy of Technology
Miller played three years of varsity soccer and one of golf at McKeel Academy of Technology, graduating in 2024. He earned 35 wins and 24 clean sheets in goal in his career.
Miller was a two-year captain, leading the Wildcats to a pair of region championships. He was also part of a district title team as a sophomore. He was named team MVP as a senior, posting nine shutouts in 11 matches with just two goals surrendered.
Mateo Nance
5-11 • 160 • M
Madrid, Spain
Aquinas American School
Radford
Nance played two seasons (2022-23) at Big South foe Radford, appearing in 23 matches, starting 14, and logging 1,352 minutes for the Highlanders. He scored two goals and four assists for eight career points, posted one game-winning goal in each season.
He graduated from Aquinas American School in Madrid, Spain, and played two years for the youth academy at CD Leganes, a pro club. He also played three years at Getafe CF, winning championships with both.
Jayce Pagano
5-11 • 160 • D
Hamilton, N.J.
Allentown
Pagano earned six total letters in soccer (four), track (one) and golf (one) at Allentown High School, graduating in 2024. He was named all-Colonial Valley Conference, all-county and all-state honors in soccer.
Pagano captained the Redbirds for two seasons and helped Allentown to a mid-Atlantic region title. ... he earned a Elite Clubs National League training camp selection and was the No. 1 junior in New Jersey in 2022.
He won a NJYS Futsal state cup title and Played for a top-16 team at ECNL Nationals as well as winning a New Jersey US Club Soccer state cup with FC DELCO.
Simba Pelletier
5-10 • 155 • M
Springfield, Mass.
Pope Francis Preparatory School
American International
Pelletier Spent three seasons (2021-23), playing two, at NCAA Division II American International in Springfield, Mass. He appeared in 32 matches, starting 22, scoring five goals and four assists for 15 career points for the Yellow Jackets.
Pelletier is a graduate of Pope Francis Preparatory School and was Named to MassLive's All-Western Mass. Team three times. He earned to two all-state plaudits and one All-New England pick.
Pelletier captained the Cardinals as a senior, setting the school's single-season record for assists with 22.
Muazu Sagir
5-10 • 175 • F
Covington, Ga.
Alpharetta
Coastal Carolina/Western Illinois
Sagir played three seasons (2020-22) of Division I soccer at Western Illinois in the Summit League, Appearing in 32 matches with 10 starts. He posted two goals and two assists for six career points in 1,061 minutes.
Sagir transferred to Coastal Carolina in 2023, but did not see match action due to injury.
He received two varsity letters in soccer at Alpharetta High School, captaining coach Alejandro Romero's squad. Sagir earned consecutive offensive player of the year honors (2018-19) and was an all-region honorable mention pick in 2019
Sagir owned the school record for goals and assists in 2020 season.
Ezrah Serralde
5-9 • 160 • M
San Ramon, Calif.
California
De Anza College
Serralde played the 2023 season at De Anza College in Cupertino, Calif. He appeared in 20 matches with 18 starts, scoring five goals and two assists for 12 points for a team that was 11-3-7 overall. He scored a hat trick in his first collegiate game at American River College on Aug. 25, spurring a 4-2 win. Serralde tallied two game-winning goals on the year.
He attended both Dougherty Valley and California High Schools, graduating from California in 2023. Serralde earned two letters in soccer from 2019-20, captaining the team both seasons. He also played in MLS NEXT as a junior and senior.
Joaquin Sonez
5-11 • 172 • D
La Plata, Argentina
Balboa Academy
Sonez attended three different high schools — Balboa Academy, Thomas Jefferson and Bachillerato a Distancia Adultos 2000 — playing for Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata (Argentina), Costa del Este FC (Panama), Levante UD (Spain), Real Aviles (Spain), Estudiantes de La Plata (Argentina).
He won two best of the tournament awards, one best midfielder award and one best defender award throughout his career.
Angel Valdez
5-9 • 154 • D
Mexicali, Mexico
University Center for Football and Sports Science
Valdez played four years of soccer for the University Center for Football and Sports Science, Captained the squad for two seasons. He helped the team to the league title in 2021 while it reached the final in 2022.
Anthony Vargas
5-10 • 180 • D
Heredia, Costa Rica
Colegio Técnico Profesional de Flores
Incarnate Word
Vargas played four seasons of Division I soccer at Incanate Word in San Antonio Texas. He appeared in 51 matches with 47 starts on the backline, logging 4,268 minutes, for the Cardinals from 2020-23
Vargas was named UIW's Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore and helped UIW to an Ohio Valley Conference championship match appearance in 2023. He also played at Universidad Hispanoamerica in San José, Costa Rica.
Diego Vargas
5-10 • 165 • M
Winterthur, Switzerland
Kantonsschule Rvchenberg
Binghamton/Cal State LA
Vargas played two seasons of NCAA Division I soccer at Binghamton, appearing in 21 matches with 18 starts from 2022-23. He collected one assist in his first season with the Bearcats against UMass Lowell on Oct. 15, 2022 and logged 1,583 career minutes in his two seasons at the Vestal, N.Y., school part of the America East Conference.
Vargas spent 2020 and 2021 seasons at Division II Cal State LA, helping the Golden Eagles to the 2021 NCAA title at 18-2-3 overall. He played 21 matches with 20 starts and a total of 1,259 minutes that year, tallying one assist.
Vargas graduated Kantonsschule Rvchenberg and was a member of the Swiss National Team in 2018. Vargas was invited to a trial with the Chilean National Team, as well.
Vargas was team captain of U21-FC Wil.
Longwood opens the 2024 regular season Aug. 22 at East Tennessee State. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m.
