Feb. 10, 2009
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis men's soccer coach Dan Donigan today announced that Nick Maglasang (St. Louis, Mo./SLUH) and Alex Sweetin (Overland Park, Kan./Rockhurst) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend the University and play soccer for the Billikens.
The duo, both of whom earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) High School All-America honors in 2008, begin their eligibility with the 2009-10 academic year.
Maglasang, the 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Player of the Year, prepped at SLUH and played club ball with St. Louis Scott Gallagher. Primarily used as a defensive midfielder at SLUH, Maglasang scored 11 goals and 13 assists over his final two seasons as a Junior Billiken. He helped SLUH advance to the Missouri State Class 3 title game in 2007, and last season helped his team to the district final.
Other honors for Maglasang include 2008 Missouri (Class 3) Defensive Player of the Year plaudits in addition to 2008 All-State first team honors. He was a second-team All-State selection as a junior.
"Nick is the type of versatile player that every team loves to have because he can play just about anywhere on the field," Donigan said. "Because of that versatility, he should be able to find some significant playing time next year. Nick is a well-rounded player who can emerge as a leader both on and off the field. He comes to SLU with a lot of accolades, but at the same time he is humble and understands the team-first philosophy, which sets him apart."
Sweetin, the 2008 Missouri (Class 3) Player of the Year, led Rockhurst to back-to-back state titles his junior and senior seasons. The central midfielder notched 26 goals and 25 assists as a senior after scoring 10 goals and adding 15 assists during his junior season. He was named the Kansas City Star Metro Player of the Year following his senior season.
Sweetin, the younger brother of former Billiken Eric Sweetin (2005-08), garnered first-team All-State honors as a junior as well. In addition to his stellar prep career, he played for the Kansas ODP Region II Team from 2005-07 and won a tournament championship in Argentina in 2007. Sweetin was also a six-time state champion for the Kansas City Wizards/KCFC Alliance, with whom he played from 1998 to 2008.
"Alex is an accomplished two-way player who can really control and dictate the flow of the game," Donigan said. "He has great size, is good on restarts and can service quality balls. We will find a way to get him into the attack because he has a great ability to break down defenses with his attacking play. Another strong quality is that he knows how to win having come from a great program at Kansas City Rockhurst."
Maglasang and Sweetin will help replace a group of six graduating seniors, three of whom were drafted in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft in January. All signings during the NLI spring signing period, which runs through Aug. 1, will be posted on www.slubillikens.com.
