Fredericksburg Hotspur News Release -- www.fasasoccer.org
Monday, April 9, 2012
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The Fredericksburg Hotspur are pleased to announce the signing of five players from Virginia Commonwealth University to their PDL roster. 
Rams juniors Romena Bowie and Nate Shiffman, along with sophomores Mario Herrera Meraz and Assane Keita and freshman Dennis Castillo, are the first college players to officially join the Hotspur for the 2012 season. Bowie, Shiffman, and Meraz will occupy midfield positions, while Castillo and Keita will play critical roles in defense.
The Hotspur have already added former professional players Evans Wise, a Trinidad and Tobago international, and Grover Gibson, who played 14 years in Germany and will also serve as an assistant coach.
“I’m extremely excited to have them here. I’ve been searching for quality players and I was very fortunate to run into the VCU program,” Gibson said.
Shiffman said their experience together with VCU will help the Hotspur team mesh well together more quickly.
“It’s going to be easy for us to play together and bring that chemistry onto this team,” Shiffman said. "The level of play will be very high with the other really talented players we already have.”
“That's the biggest reason I came here... to get better and to win,” said Castillo.
Gibson added that their familiarity with each other and the environment that the Hotspur program will provide should give the team an advantage over some of the other teams they will face.
“I think that should be very clutch to our program,” he said.
Fredericksburg is set to open its season on Sunday, May 13, at 5 p.m., when it visits the Northern Virginia Royals at Fairfax High School. The Hotspur will open their home campaign on Saturday, May 19, at 5:30 p.m., against the Virginia Beach Piranhas at the University of Mary Washington.