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Buffalo Recruiting

Wednesday National Signing Day for Buffalo Bulls Soccer, as well

By Matt Gritzmacher
UB Athletics

Don't forget that today is also National Signing Day for soccer (and Men's Water Polo, but we don't have that, presumably for Title IX reasons). Here's what I know:

Women

Coach Shawn Burke loses to graduation a class of five, so I don't anticipate this group being too large, but we've found a handful over the last year.

Gurjeena Jandu - Defence - N. Mississauga, ON

I haven't found much on Jandu since she committed nearly a year and a half ago, but she comes from a club team that will send nine players to NCAA Division I programs, including three in addition to Gurjeena to the MAC, and advanced to the semifinals of the U18 Ontario Cup this past summer.

Panthers well on their way to NCAA scholarships
MISSISSAUGA — Signing an athletic scholarship is a big commitment for any 17-year-old in their final year of high school. Not only does it take countless hours of training and studying, but it also requires a lot of research to find the school that's best for a student's needs. More than half of the North Mississauga Panthers girls' under-16 team have already made that decision and they're still two years away from heading to the U.S. to begin playing for their respective NCAA Division I programs.

Mairead Martin - - Mahopac, NY

Martin is another one we've known about for roughly a year after she announced her commitment on Twitter last January. I can't find much on Martin's play, but she attends Mahopac High School in the Hudson River Valley and also plays for the Eastern New York Olympic Development team. Her older sister, Orla, plays for Roberts Wesleyan.

Kara Daly - Forward - Hamburg, NY

Named Second Team All-WNY at forward as a freshman, Daly has racked up further regional accolades since then, including totalling more than 100 goals before beginning her senior season. Competing in a loaded WNY Class A that includes BU-bound Marissa Birzon and future Bull Marcy Barberic (Grand Island), Daly's Hamburg team couldn't upend Williamsville East and Birzon to advance in the state playoffs.

A onetime teammate of current UB Track and Field sprinter Amy Villarini, Daly will - I believe - be wearing #11 for the Bulls. I suspect that she may already be on campus as an early enrollee. I suppose we'll see if she's on the spring roster.

Carley Zoccali - Midfield - Rush, NY

Seventh-Team All-State in New York's largest classification as a senior, Zoccali comes to Buffalo from the soccer-rich Rochester suburbs and a four-year starting career at Rush Henrietta. A First-Team All-Greater Rochester selection this year, Carley also has spent time with the Empire United Youth Academy in the state.

In the pipeline

I've mentioned Grand Island's Barberic, but also remember the name Gianna Yurchak from Pennsylvania. Next year's class should be bigger than this one, so I'm sure we'll find out more.

If you remember last year's edition of this post and are wondering about Clarence's Sydney Cerza, she flipped to St. Bonaventure at ... some point in the late spring without much fanfare.

Men

Of all the UB teams, Stu Riddle's program is absolutely the most locked down when it comes to recruits. Last year we knew of two - Ryan Aspenleiter and transfer Joseph Kuta - and were pleasantly surprised by Scott Doney, Nick Forrester, and (at the time, at least) Pabla Fernandez-Paniagua Juez.

This year, I've got one:

A local player, Juszczak is a goalie at Starpoint, and I can't find much more. If a redshirt year is in the cards, he'll still have a good amount of eligibility left once Joeseph Kuta and Cameron Hogg graduate.

The team graduated three seniors this year, so I'd expect to see at least another name or two, even in transfer form.

I don't expect any of these names to be announced today, as usually the Olympic sports wait a day or three until everything's wrapped up.

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