Feb. 4, 2010

MILWAUKEE -- Marquette University men's soccer head coach Louis Bennett announced Thursday his incoming class for the 2010 season. In all, seven student-athletes have signed the National Letter of Intent or an Acceptance of Admission form to attend Marquette University this fall.

"It's an exciting day," said Bennett. ³This group is an extremely strong, equipped group and the coaching staff is very happy about this incoming class."

Expected to play for the Golden Eagles beginning in the fall of 2010 are: goalkeeper Charlie Lyon (St. Charles, Ill.); midfielders Eric Pothast (Lake Zurich, Ill.), Bryan Ciesiulka (Naperville, Ill.), Paul Dillon (Chesapeake, Va.) and Charlie Hoover (Whitefish Bay, Wis.); and defenders Dennis Holowaty (Strongsville, Ohio) and John Mau (Delafield, Wis.).

"I'm unbelievably happy that they'll join a squad that is in good shape right now," Bennett said of his incoming class. "It's a very talented class in all aspects of what will be their college life. With Stan [Anderson] and Steve [Bode] and the entire staff, we've managed to cover all the bases and make sure that these guys know that Marquette is the right place for them.

And I really believe it's the right place for them. I'm sure they'll take advantage of the opportunity that will be presented to them at Marquette."

Paul Dillon | 5-8 | 155 | MF | Chesapeake, Va | Indian River H.S. | Virginia Rush

A First Team All District Honoree for Indian River High School under head coach Keith Freeman...Named the Southeastern District Player of the Year as a junior...Helped led the Virginia Rush club team to a US Developmental League State Cup Championship under the direction of coach Jay Hoffman...An all-region selection...A Second Team All-Tidewater Conference selection as a junior...Helped bring Indian River High School to third in the regional rankings in goals scored...Led the Braves to the district tournament...Selected to attend the US-Market Training center...Team Captain for VA Rush...Was also a member of the golf team in high school...Personal...Born December 12, 1991...Son of Edward Dillon.

Coach Bennett on Dillon (mp3 podcast):
"Paul has done very well with his club team. He's a captain. He's left-footed. He plays interior midfield. We see him as an outside half back, attacking from deep and getting into the attack. He can defend as well as attack, so he can play as a traditional left back as well. He's quick. He's tenacious. He's ambitious. It was a need to fill the left-hand side of the field and certainly Paul was one of the guys that we targeted."

Dennis Holowaty | 5-10 | 160 | D | Strongsville, Ohio | St. Ignatius H. S. | Internationals Academy

Trained and played under the direction of Denzil Antonio with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy...Helped lead the St. Ignatius Wildcats to the 2008 Ohio State Division I Championship under coach Mike McLaughlin...As a senior, helped St. Ignatius reach the to the Ohio state championship game for the second consecutive year...During time as captain, the Wildcats were ranked No. 1 in the nation for seven consecutive weeks in 2009...Honored with the Magis Award in 2009...Named to the Sun Post's All-Cleveland team in 2009...Was an Academic All-Ohio selection in 2009...Selected as an All-Greater Cleveland honorable mention as a senior...Personal...Born January 28, 1992...Son of Michael and Roma Holowaty.

Coach Bennett on Holowaty (mp3 podcast):
"He's a guy who's very prominant in his club team. Hard-nosed, right-footed outside defender. Dennis loves to track people, tackle, and brings an intelligence to the way he defends, and I'm really excited about him. He will fit in really well. Great student. Great guy. Very, very determined and ambitious."

Bryan Ciesiulka | 5-4 | 145 | MF | Naperville, Ill. | Neuqua Valley H.S. | Chicago Fire Academy

Selected as a NSCAA/adidas All-American and was named Illinois Player of the Year as a senior...a two-time all-region and all-state honoree...Neuqua Valley H.S. all-time leader in assists and ranks second all-time in points...Helped lead the Wildcats to two state tournament appearances under head coach Tony Kees...During senior season, helped the Wildcats to a perfect regular season record...Led the Chicago Fire Academy in assists under player development director Larry Sunderland...Chicago Fire Academy Team Captain...Ciesiulka also previously helped the Chicago Magic US Club National Championship and Youth Club National Championship...Personal...Born October 10, 1991...Son of Philip Ciesiullza and Nancy Ciesiulka.

Coach Bennett on Ciesiulka (mp3 podcast):
"Very rarely does he give the ball away. He has the ability to make plays for other people and take his own plays. This is a guy who's on the cusp of the highest level. He's had some very good coaching, but what I like about Bryan is that he's taken that coaching and he's used it. We needed a guy that can hold onto the ball in midfield. We needed a guy who was mobile. I was very excited to get him, because I think it was something that we needed and I think he'll be able to fill that need."

Charlie Hoover | 5-10 | 150 | MF | Whitefish Bay, Wis. | Whitefish Bay H.S. | Bavarian Soccer Club

Played club soccer with the Bavarian Soccer Club in Milwaukee under coach Jesse Rosen...A two-year captain, led the Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes to the North Shore Conference Championship as a senior under head coach Mike Kops...A two-time North Shore Conference First Team Honoree...Earned second team all-area distinction and was selected as a member of the all-state second team as a senior...An all-area honorable mention as a junior...Led the Bavarian Soccer Club in assists...Selected to play in NOW Newspapers/Milwaukee Wave Indoor Senior All-Star Game...Voted MVP at High School Boys Preseason Soccer SUPER Camp...Named to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Players to Watch list in 2009...Also played basketball in high school...Personal...Born April 28,1992...Son of David and Beth Hoover.

Coach Bennett on Hoover (mp3 podcast):
"Another lad that's had good coaching, Charlie's got a lot of tools that he can bring to the college game. I think nailing down where he'll play will be probably a first assignment that he has. He can play in a couple of positions. He's normally played in midfield, but we may like to see him wider. When you watch him play, he never stops running and never stop working and that makes him difficult to play against."

Charlie Lyon | 6-2 | 210 | GK | St. Charles, Ill. | St. Charles East H.S. | Chicago Fire Academy

Earned NSCAA/adidas All-Midwest recognition for his work in the net for St. Charles East High School, where he played last season under head coach Paul Jennison...All-state honoree...Recipient of the Upstate Eight Sportsmanship Award...Named to the 2009 All-Area Team by the Daily Herald as a senior...Coached by Larry Sunderland as a member of the Chicago Fire Academy, where Lyon was named to the Academy Select team in both 2008 and 2009...Two-time recipient of the Academy Midwest Starting XI Award...Named Triblocal's High School Player of the Month contest for September 2009...Personal...Born April 10, 1992...Son of Joseph and Janet Lyon.

Coach Bennett on Lyon (podcast mp3):
"Charlie Lyon's got a pedigree and the experience. He's a huge body. He's confident, but he's also very realistic. Despite having achieved a lot, he knows that he wants to achieve a lot more, so that ambition drives him and he's got a fantastic work rate. I'm really excited about the possibilities for Charlie Lyon."

Coach Anderson (associate head coach and goalkeeper coach) on Lyon:
"Charlie comes from a long line of Doug Cardosi-taught keepers, and his game has grown tremendously with the Fire. Charlie brings immediate competition to our keeper position and a presence level that is rare for a keeper. He is widely regarded as one of the top keepers in the country and has some time with the U.S. national team to show for that work."

Eric Pothast | 6-3 | 175 | MF | Lake Zurich, Ill. | Lake Zurich H.S. | Sockers FC

A NSCAA/adidas All-Midwest selection out of Lake Zurich High School under head coach Mike Schmitz...Selected as the captain of the Daily Herald's Lake County All-Area Team...As a team captain, led Lake Zurich to the Class 3A State Runner up as a senior...A three-time all-conference and all-area honoree...Named team MVP both as a junior and a senior...A key component in the Bears' midfield, helped Lake Zurich to three consecutive titles in the North Shore Suburban Conference...Helped the Sockers FC reach the State Cup Finals under coach David Richardson...Personal...Born October 19, 1991...Son of Ben and Lori Pothast.

Coach Bennett on Pothast (Pothast mp3):
"We've been tracking Eric since he was a sophomore so you can understand how excited we were when he signed. Eric is left-footed but can play with both feet. He brings size. He can play a variety of positions. He's another guy who's been on the watch list as one of the top players in the country. Extremely dedicated and fantastic work ethic. I think people are going to like him."

John Mau | 6-2 | 160 | D | Delafield, WI. | Kettle Moraine H.S. | FC Milwaukee

Attended Kettle Moraine High School where he played under head coach Marquette University alumn Greg Prospero...Mau earned all-conference recognition his junior and senior years as well as all-area and all-state honors his senior season...As a sophomore, helped Kettle Moraine earn its first-ever berth to the Wisconsin state championship tournament as the Lasers won both the regional and sectional titles...Led Kettle Moraine to a regional championship in 2008 and 2009...Captained the squad his senior year...Played at FC Milwaukee under Rob Harrington as well as Mark Lambrecht...Played under current Marquette University associate head coach Stan Anderson as a member of the Wisconsin ODP team, earning a spot on the state team in 2008 and 2009 as well as the regional team in 2009...Also played basketball in high school...Was voted All-Star at High School Boys Preseason Soccer Super Camp in 2008 and 2009...Personal...Born January 16, 1992...Son of John and Kathy Mau...Has younger siblings, Joey and Lauren.

Coach Bennett on Mau (mp3 podcast):
"I really like the fact that John has decided to come here and turned down some other schools. John is a central defender. John has got a good background. The upswing with John is that his best soccer is ahead of him. He's got a good body. He's got good tenaciousness. He's a guy who's going to work his way into a favorable position."

An Under-20 Jamaican National Team selection for the CONCACAF Cup...Represented the MLS in the Comunidad de Madrid U-18 Tournament in Spain...Four-year varsity starter at Trinity Catholic High School and Lecanto High School...Led TCHS to the district and regional championships en route to the state semi-finals...Team leading scorer for LHS in 2009, earning high school player of the year and all-area first team honors...Named all-county first team and the district and county scoring champion in 2008...Team MVP for Citrus United Soccer Club from 2005 to 2007...Led the club team to 2006 U.S. Club Soccer Co-Champions as scoring and assists leader.

Coach Bennett on East: "This is a player who was highly recruited by many other schools. It's like the bonus ball of our recruiting class. He is a good fit for our program, he is a good fit for our team. He has a lot of really positive traits that will help him do well, not only at Marquette but in the BIG EAST. He can play the lone striker, because he can play as a target man or as a striker that runs away from people and runs through holes. This kind of player is difficult to find because he's a large, mobile, fast striker. He definitely has an island flair to his game."