Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Four prep standouts accept FIU soccer scholarships

IU head coach Karl Kremser announced today that his Florida International University men's soccer program has received national letters of intent from Broward County high school seniors Samuel-Eli Dzegede (Ely) and Dumel Decius (Coral Springs) along with Florida west-coast standouts Chris Martinez and Jared Rose.

Decius was a second-team all-county performer who ranked sixth in Broward scoring this past season with 22 goals and eight assists for head coach Randy Hulse's Colts team that finished the regular season atop District 9-4A with a 9-4-1 record.

Dzegede's 11 goals and 18 assists were 11th best in Broward. The honorable-mention all-county performer helped head coach Glen Carter's Tigers to second place in 10-4A at 11-6-3.

Martinez was an outstanding goalkeeper at Bradenton Bayshore High School who recorded some 80 saves during the 2001 season. He is currently attending Manatee C.C. but is not competing and will enroll at FIU this coming fall with freshman eligibility.

Rose was a mainstay with the perennially-strong Gaither High School program out of Tampa. After helping the Cowboys to three state finals in four year, Rose was a first-team All-Hillsborough County selection who ended his career with numerous postseason appearances including the Senior Soccer Challenge and the FACA All-Star Classic.

"I'm extremely happy that these four student-athletes have decided to become a part of our program," said Kremser. "They're all outstanding athletes and their addition fills several of our needs.

"Martinez will solidify our goalkeeper position. Dzegede is skillful enough to immediately challenge for a position either up front or at midfield. Decius is a potential game breaker and Rose is a good all-around performer and one of the best players to come out of the Tampa area this year."

A member of the Atlantic Soccer Conference, last year's Golden Panthers men's soccer team finished with a 10-8-0 overall record and concluded the season at the NCAA Tournament where they fell to the University of New Mexico, 1-0, in opening-round play.