DETROIT (4/28/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer program and head coach
Nicholas Deren '99 has announced the addition of seven student-athletes, who all signed letters of intent to play with the Titans in the 2021-22 school year.
The seven student-athletes that are set to join the Detroit Mercy men's soccer program this fall are
Alex Diac (Wixom, Mich. / Walled Lake Central),
Trayvin Fetzer (Farmington Hills, Mich. / North Farmington),
Tommy Gardella (Royal Oak, Mich. / Royal Oak),
Fisher Hudak (Ocean City, N.J. / Ocean City),
Stephen Kosto (New Baltimore, Mich. / Anchor Bay),
Mico Rubio (Huntington Woods, Mich. / Berkley) and
Eddie Villagomez (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Technical).
Six of the seven future Titans hail from the Metro Detroit area, while one signee comes from New Jersey.
"I would like to thank my coaching staff for putting this talented group of recruits together," Deren said. "Each one of them has all of the intangibles to be a success at Detroit Mercy. They bring a wealth of talent on the field, but just as important, they bring the character which will see them excel for the UDM family and beyond."
A closer look at Deren's 2020-21 signing class:
Alex Diac // Midfielder
Height: 6'2"
Hometown: Wixom, Mich.
High School: Walled Lake Central
Accolades: A three-year letterwinner in soccer for the Vikings ... Earned Second Team All-State honors, along with All-District and All-Conference honors ... Two-year team captain ... Helped team to district championship and city championship in 2020 ... Earned Walled Lake Central's Best Midfielder Award in 2018 and 2020 ... Tallied five goals and 11 assists in 33 games (missed 2019 season due to injury) ... Played club soccer with Michigan Jaguars for six years, helping the squad to 2017 State Cup title ... His father, Dan Diac, played professionally as a goalkeeper in Romania ... Plans to enroll in 5-year MBA program.
Deren on Diac: "Alex brings a game that will help us link the game from the back to the front. He has tremendous passing range and the ability to unlock the final pass. That is a great combination to have. His desire and passion to win will inspire others around him to do so as well. He is a big time pick-up for us."
Trayvin Fetzer // Midfielder-Defender
Height: 5'9"
Hometown: Farmington Hills, Mich.
High School: North Farmington
Accolades: Lettered in three seasons for the Raiders and was coached by former Titan women's soccer goalkeeper Erika Rust at North Farmington ... Two-time All-District ... Played club soccer with Northville Rush across three seasons ... His father, Clint Fetzer, played baseball at Eastern Michigan.
Deren on Fetzer: "Trayvin is an unbelievable athlete. He has tremendous closing speed which is key to the style we like to play here at Detroit Mercy. Tough in the tackle and an excellent ball-winner, he will win his 1-v-1 duel most, if not every time. He is a great addition to the Titan back line!"
Tommy Gardella // Midfielder
Height: 5'10"
Hometown: Royal Oak, Mich.
High School: Royal Oak
Accolades: A four-year letterwinner for the Ravens, also earning letters in football and lacrosse ... A two-year captain, helping the Ravens to a league championship in 2019 ... Received All-League and All-District honors as well as earning the Coaches Award ... Was MVP of Special Teams in football ... His great uncle, Charles Gardella, played football at the University for the Titans ... Plans to major in Business.
Deren on Gardella: "Tommy has made huge strides as a player in the last two years. He has developed grit and fight to his game which fits perfectly in the Horizon League. He covers a lot of ground and will give us added depth in the midfield. He reminds me of some top midfielders we have had here in the recent past."
Fisher Hudak // Forward-Midfielder
Height: 5'10"
Hometown: Ocean City, N.J.
High School: Ocean City
Accolades: Graduated from Ocean City High School in 2020 ... Lettered in four seasons in soccer for three different high schools ... A captain and Team MVP for Ocean City High School as a senior in 2019 ... Earned All-Conference honors all four seasons and All-State accolades as a senior in 2019 ... Helped lead the team to a sectional final in 2019 ... Named the Burlington County Freshman of the Year in 2016 ... All-time leading scorer for NextGen Leadership Academy and owns freshman goal-scoring record at Palmyra High School ... Trialist at Fleetwood Town FC in England (2017-18) ... Plans to major in Pre-Med at the University.
Deren on Hudak: "Fisher Hudak will bring a tremendous amount of versatility to our program. He is a natural center midfielder with the bite to play more of a defensive role, but also has an established offensive game. He can shoot from distance with precision and his movement off the ball to put himself into dangerous areas is what makes Fisher such a dangerous player for the opposition."
Stephen Kosto // Defender
Height: 5'8"
Hometown: New Baltimore, Mich.
High School: Anchor Bay
Accolades: Played 12 years of club soccer, five years with Michigan Burn and seven years with the Vardar Academy ... Helped team in reaching the DA Cup last season, qualifying for the playoffs ... Captain for his team in each of the past two seasons (2019-21) ... Plans to major in Business at the University.
Deren on Kosto: "Stephen comes to us from Vardar Soccer Club. They have a reputation of putting out top players to Division 1 Universities throughout the country. He has been coached extremely well. He has tremendous pace and technique on the ball. He plays in the wide areas of the field where he is extremely dangerous going forward and is a very proficient 1-v-1 defender. He will come in and be an immediate impact player for us and will provide that natural width we definitely need to be successful."
Mico Rubio // Defender-Forward
Height: 5'7"
Hometown: Huntington Woods, Mich.
High School: Berkley
Accolades: A four-year letterwinner for the Bears, earning D1 Second Team All-State honors in both 2019 and 2020 ... A two-time All-League, All-Region and All-County honoree as a junior and senior ... Three-time All-District and All-Area ... A team captain as a senior ... Helped team to best four-year record in Berkley soccer history (60-16-13), with top-10 rankings in Division 1 in each of the past three seasons (2018-20) ... Helped Bears to two district titles (2018, 2020) and four district finals ... Totaled 15 goals and 10 assists in career ... Ranked as No. 15 field player in state by Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association ... Played club soccer with the Michigan Jaguars for three years ... His god sister, Victoria Sollestre, played for the Titan women's soccer program from 2011-14 ... Plans to major in Mechanical Engineering.
Deren on Rubio: "Mico is an extremely gifted player who can play multiple positions. He is flexible enough and has the ability to play out wide but has the insight and intelligence to play in the central areas of the field also. His technique and ability on the ball allows him to create space to play the dangerous passes for teammates or finish himself."
Eddie Villagomez // Midfielder
Height: 5'9"
Hometown: Detroit, Mich.
High School: Cass Technical
Accolades: A 2020 graduate of Cass Technical, playing soccer for the Technicians from 2016-18 ... A captain for Michigan Jaguars in 2019, playing for Jags from 2016-19 and in 2021 ... Played for Portland Timbers in 2019-20 ... Helped squad to State Cup title in 2018 and Midwest Regional championship in 2019, reaching national semifinals and finishing third in the nation ... Earned Best XI in the nation award in 2019 ... A captain for the Jaguars in 2019 ... Plans to major in Pre-Med.
Deren on Villagomez: "Eddie will be a top player in the conference. He has all the tools to help take us to the top. He can score, he can play make, he can drop deep and pick the ball up from the backs. He has it all, and I look forward to seeing him reach the highest levels for us in the immediate future."
The Titans just recently completed the spring 2021 season in late March. Detroit Mercy brings back the majority of its roster for the 2021 fall campaign later this year. Stay tuned for more updates regarding the Titan men's soccer program.
