SEATTLE – Three outstanding student-athletes have committed to play men's soccer at Seattle Pacific University, including Taylor Backous whose father was a four-year Falcons letterman.

Backous is a graduate of Sammamish High School in Bellevue, Wash. He joins the Falcons along with Liviu Bird from Fairbanks, Alaska and Kodiac Gamble from Tucson, Ariz.

“The recruiting process continues to amaze me and we feel really fortunate to be able to add three quality student athletes to our roster for 2010,” says Mark Collings, who begins his third season as SPU's head coach.

“All three of these guys will add some needed depth to their respective positions and more importantly continue to improve the strength of our roster. The three newest Falcons will make our training sessions more competitive which is something we feel will help us develop consistency.”

Backous was a first-team All-KingCo Conference selection in 2010 after earning second-team recognition in 2009. The defender tallied a goal and six assists as a senior.

He was a member of the Eastside FC team that won state club championships in 2006 and 2009.

“We feel fortunate to add a player like Taylor to our program,” Collings says. “I feel like we're getting a player that is just starting to realize his potential and is still growing into his body. We're really excited about Taylor's technical skill for a player of his size.”

Taylor's father, Doug Backous, played from 1980-83 as a defender at SPU. Doug accumulated nine goals during his collegiate career that was capped with an NCAA Division II championship. He was a first-team all-conference honoree in 1982 and served as the Falcons' 1983 team captain.

Bird is a native of Fairbanks, Alaska who prepped at West Valley High School. He played the last two years at Highline Community College, located just south of Seattle.

The junior college goalkeeper compiled three shutouts and a 0.90 goals against average as a freshman at Highline. He increased the shutout total to four during his sophomore season.

“Liviu will add some needed depth and competition to the goalkeepers,” describes Collings. “We wanted to add someone with experience and that had the desire to compete for playing time right away. We feel fortunate to have him joining us this fall.”

Gamble amassed 23 goals and 29 assists at Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson. He garnered first-team all-state accolades his senior season after receiving second-team honors as a junior.

Projected as a defender or midfielder at SPU, Gamble participated in the 2009 under-18 Club World Cup with his Tucson Soccer Academy squad.

“We were able to sneak another player out of Arizona,” says Collings, whose roster already includes three players from the Grand Canyon State. Scottsdale's Tyler Schultz led all SPU scorers with eight goals last season and Glendale's Jon Pearman was named the 2009 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Anthony Mohammed, from Litchfield Park, Ariz., is a likely SPU starter after red-shirting last season.

“Kodi played youth soccer with some of our current players which gives him a good feel for what's expected at SPU,” Collings continues. “In addition, Coach (Jon) Pearlman has done a fantastic job of preparing him for the transition to college soccer. Kodi's game is simple, but very effective.”

Those three newcomers join a pair of players who signed SPU letters of intent in February. Forward Blaine Carver (Soldotna HS) was the 2009 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year and midfielder Connor Meppen (Boise HS) played on the two-time Idaho state Class 5A champions.

The five newest Falcons will begin their collegiate careers with training camp in August. They join an SPU team that did not receive a berth in the 2009 NCAA Division II Tournament despite an 11-5-3 mark that was a five-win improvement from the previous season's record (6-10-3). The Falcons posted a 4-3-1 mark to place third in the GNAC standings.

Four seniors departed from last year's team, leaving the squad with nine returning starters.


2010 SEATTLE PACIFIC MEN'S SOCCER RECRUITING CLASS
Taylor Backous
D, Bellevue, WA (Sammamish HS)

Liviu Bird
GK, Fairbanks, AK (West Valley HS/Highline, Wash. CC)

Blaine Carver
F, Soldotna, AK (Soldotna HS/Kenai Peninsula SC)

Kodiac Gamble
D/MF, Tucson, AZ (Ironwood Ridge HS)

Connor Meppen
MF, Boise, ID (Boise HS/Boise Nationals)