Ocean City Nor'easters News Release -- www.oceancityfc.com
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
OCEAN CITY, N.J. -- The Ocean City Nor’easters are happy to bring in three new players with U.S. Youth National Team experience under their belts for the upcoming PDL season. As the Nor’easters continue to improve in all areas on and off the field it is great to see the quality arrive in southern New Jersey.
Defender Nicholas Bibbs, goalkeeper Tyler Miller and forward Markhus "Duke" Lacroix have committed themselves to the shore for the 2012 USL PDL season. It is great testament to the organization that players of this stature see the Ocean City Nor’easters as a place to improve and push on to the professional levels.
Bibbs earned All-State honors and was a Regional All-American at High School before becoming a regular starter at Syracuse University. Nicholas was part of the U18 National Team Camp in 2009.
“He is athletic, strong, good on the ball, fast, and versatile," Nor'easters coach Tim Oswald said. "He can interchange in the center back and right back spots without us losing a beat. His experience in the Big East this past season and previous years with Reading will bode well with the young guys we are bringing in.”
Lacroix scored five goals with four assists in his freshman year at Penn University, which was enough to earn a call up to the U20 National Team Camp this year alongside his Ivy League Rookie of the Year and CollegeSoccerNews.com Second-Team All-Freshman awards.
“Duke had a phenomenal season this past year in the Ivy League and the U.S. National Staff noticed,” Oswald said. “He is electric on the pitch and has buckets of pace. He makes guys around him better and attaches himself well into the attack. I don’t doubt for a second that he will be a great find for this team and part of a group of three rising freshman that can serve as strong pieces to our future, but a guy that will have an impact immediately.”
Miller is an outstanding goalkeeper from Northwestern who broke a number of records in his freshman year, starting all 19 games. He recorded nine shutouts, the most for a rookie in Wildcat history, and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, was a unanimous choice for Conference All-Freshman Team as well as being named on the College Soccer News second team. He will be a part of the U20 National Team Camp this year after participating in the U18 National Team camp while in high school.
“Tyler had an amazing debut this past season at Northwestern," Oswald said. "His imposing size and frame led to instant success on the pitch as his team advanced into the NCAA tournament. With experience in big game matches against some of the top teams in the country, we are very happy with the signing of such a young player with a big future in front of him.”
With this quality within the already strong Nor’easters squad the expectations are high for a deep run into the playoffs in 2012.
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