NEWBERRY — Newberry men’s soccer has announced the signing of six additional players to the team for the 2017 season.

Head coach Bryce Cooper has signed a total of 13 players.

“I am extremely excited about how this class is shaping up,” said Cooper. “This group of players will add to an already stellar class that includes players from the Development Academy, youth national teams and the Olympic Development Program (ODP).

“We have high expectations for this class and feel that they have the chance to make an immediate impact on the field while adding quality depth to key positions,” he added. “More importantly they are high character guys who exhibit the kind of values and principles we are building this program around. They understand what it’s going to take to help us build something special here and we believe they’ll help us do exactly that.”

Nolan Bidleman

Nolan Bidleman is a central midfielder from Columbus, Ga. where he attends Columbus High School and plays on the varsity soccer team. Nolan has played varsity soccer at Columbus HS for the past three years and was the 2016 CHS Offensive Player of the Year. Bidleman also made the 2016 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) All-State All-Star Varsity team. While with his club soccer team, Birmingham United Soccer Academy (BUSA) 98 East, Nolan has won the 2016 US Club Region Championship. His Birmingham United team was also a 2015 Alabama State Cup semi-finalist.

Till Neumann

Till Neumann is a midfielder and forward from Calden, Germany. He comes to Newberry currently playing for SC Paderborn 07. In the 2015-2016 season, Till tallied an impressive nine goals in 16 matches, and earned the most assists in the entire youth league. With Paderborn, Neumann has won the youth league twice. He has also competed for the clubs VfL Kassel – Hessenliga and Osc Vellmar – Hessenliga.

Stone Parsons

Stone Parsons is a forward from Greenville, S.C. He attends Wade Hampton High School where he has played both varsity soccer and football. This past year he helped the Wade Hampton soccer team reach the Upper State Finals. In addition to Varsity athletics at Wade Hampton, Stone currently plays for the Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (CESA) and has been a representative for the South Carolina Region III ODP team (along with Jacob Williams). Stone’s most recent accomplishment with CESA has been being a qualifier for the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships in Texas this past Summer.

William ‘Christian’ Thomas

Christian Thomas is an outside midfielder and forward from Charlotte, N.C. Christian currently attends East Mecklenburg High School and has been a three-year varsity starter as well as a two-year captain. While at East Mecklenburg, Thomas has been named a two-year All-Conference player in the Southwestern 4A region, and one year All-Region player in North Carolina. In his high school career, Christian has tallied 23 goals and 30 assists. In club soccer, Christian plays for the Carolina Rapids 99 Burgundy team and also leads the team in goals. Back in 2015, Christian was part of the One7 club team that won a US Club Soccer National Championship. Christian was also the place kicker on the varsity football at East Mecklenburg for the past three years.

Zachary Vollertsen

Zach Vollertsen is a defender and forward from Summerville. Zach graduated from Ashley Ridge High School in 2014. During his time at Ashley Ridge, Zach played two years of varsity soccer in a number different of positions including winger, outside back, and center forward. Zach has also played club soccer at Goose Creek United and North Area Soccer Association (NASA). After high school, Zach joined the Airman 3rd Class within the South Carolina Air National Guard.

Jacob Williams

Jacob Williams is a goalkeeper from Hanahan, where he attends Hanahan High School. Williams was the JV captain in 8th grade and then the starting goalkeeper for the varsity team in 9th grade. Since then, he has represented Hanahan HS the following three years and was a varsity captain as a senior. Jacob has also been a starter for the former US Soccer Development Academy Club (USSDA), Charleston Battery Academy, within the U16 and U18 age groups. In addition, Jacob has been a representative for the South Carolina Region III ODP team and is currently a starter for the USA Mount Pleasant 99 Premier club team.

Neumann
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Neumann.jpgNeumann

Thomas
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Thomas.jpgThomas

Williams
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Williams.jpgWilliams

Bidleman
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Bidleman.jpgBidleman

Parsons
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Parsons.jpgParsons

Vollertsen
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Vollertsen.jpgVollertsen

Staff Report