So far this offseason, we've seen the exodus of a few players off to play in the professional ranks, as well as a solid class coming in on National Signing Day. It looks like the hits are going to keep coming for the Orange, as the Class of 2015 rounds itself out.
Orange Is The New Nordic:
Our Scandinavia count was down to one. With Emil Ekblom heading back to Stabaek to play under Bob Bradley, we were left with only Oyvind Alseth (Norway) on the roster. In modern Syracuse history, this is completely unacceptable and as such, we reloaded with three new Nords, Jonathan Hagman, Andreas Jenssen and Oskar Sewerin.
Jonathan Hagman:
Hailing from the AIK Stockholm academy, the Enebygerg, Sweden native comes in as a solid central midfielder. He netted 10 goals in 42 games for the academy on way to captaining the run to a Swedish national championship for the U-19s.
Andreas Jenssen
We lost one to Stabaek, we gained one from Stabaek. Jenssen played for and captained the U-19 Stabaek side to the Norway U-19 title last year and has also competed for the senior reserve team. Another midfielder, he hails from Lommendalen, Norway and should be another solid addition to the class.
Oskar Sewerin
Sewerin comes to the Orange from Stockholm, Sweden via the University of New Haven (DII), where he played and started for two seasons. The central defender should help bolster the back line and fill some holes left by graduations.
Thus ends our travels around northern Europe, bringing the Scandinavia count to four and the Nordic count to five (Thanks Juuso).
The final two additions to 2015 are also from the northern latitudes, but on this side of the Atlantic. Kamal Miller, a defender from Scarborough, Ontario and Jake Keller, a midfielder from Wappingers Falls, NY.
Kamal Miller
The defender from our Northern neighbors in Ontario is a solid centerback, whom Coach McIntyre praised for his composure on the ball. Miller mentioned his role model is David Luiz, which could be a blessing and a curse. As long as he avoid the "five second angry" then we should be in good shape with him adding some solid depth to a backline that needs it.
Jake Keller
Keller is another NYS product that has stayed with the Orange. The attacking midfielder should round out a solid class for the Orange. When asked about choosing Syracuse, Keller stated the following:
"I chose Syracuse because it felt like family the first time I stepped foot into the facilities and met the coaches and players," Keller told HVSR after his signing his NLI this week. "A huge part of choosing Syracuse is I wanted to play at the highest level, I wanted to be competing against the best. Everyone at Syracuse felt like they wanted to be there, they wanted to get better."
Overall this looks to be a great class for the team and addresses some of the concerns that were to be raised regarding any of the positions vacated by graduation and professional contracts. I'd say McIntyre and company hit the ball out of the park on this one.