The UB men's soccer team made its final three signings of the offseason Thursday afternoon, adding a pair players with international experience and a New York City-area native to the class. That makes 14 new members to the team under new head coach Stu Riddle.
"As a staff, we have worked very hard to plug the final few gaps in our roster for the Fall," Riddle said. "We are really happy with these additions and can now focus on preparing for pre season."
Joining the team next season will be freshmen Nicolai Berry and Jonathan Zvi, and transfer student Kristian Lee-Him, who comes to the team after spending two seasons at Appalachian State University.
Berry already has an impressive resume coming to UB, having recently represented New Zealand team WYNRS at the prestigious FIFA Blue Stars tournament in Switzerland in April. The team became the first-ever Oceanic representative in the 75-year history of the tournament. Coming to Buffalo all the way from his native Auckland, Berry is projected to be a difference-maker in the attacking third.
"Nicolai is going to bring a wealth of experience to the team this fall despite being a freshman," Riddle said about his fellow Kiwi. "He's a dynamic left winger with great athleticism that I fully expect to give opposition defenses big headaches when he settles in with us."
Lee-Him brings a scoring mentality to the UB midfield, after leading the Mountaineers in scoring as a sophomore in 2012. He played in 31 games in his two seasons with the team, and led all scorers on the team with seven points last season. Also a solid student, he was named to the Southern Conference's All-Academic team in 2011 and 2012. Internationally, he has spent time with the Trinidad and Tobago U-20 national team, making three incoming recruits that have played internationally for their respective countries (joining Berry and Ryan Pereira).
"Kristian has already proven himself to be a great asset at the Division-I level and I expect with his age and experience, he will hit the ground running as an attacking midfielder for us this Fall."
The team will finally gather in full this Summer, when the group reports in August for preseason training. The 2013 season begins August 30, when the Bulls face St. Bonaventure.