SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Head coach Ian McIntyre’s first recruiting class at Syracuse is beginning to take shape. McIntyre announced on Saturday, Feb. 13 that junior college All-American Federico Agreda has signed a National Letter-of-Intent (NLI) to play for the Orange next season. Agreda is the first player to sign with the Orange since McIntyre took over the program in January.
Agreda, a forward, earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America First Team honors in 2009 at Garden City Community College in Kansas.
“We are delighted to welcome Federico to Syracuse University and I know that he will be a fantastic addition to our program,” McIntyre said. “He is an intelligent player who is very comfortable on the ball and we will be looking for him to make an immediate impact.”
At Garden City, Agreda was a driving force behind one of the most successful two-year stretches in team history. The Busters compiled a 33-7-1 record in his two seasons, including a school-best 18-3-1 mark and an appearance in the national semifinals in 2008. In addition, the Busters won the 2008 National Junior College Association of America (NJCAA) Region VI title, defeating Barton County in a shootout.
Agreda finished with 26 goals and 24 assists in his junior college career, scoring 13 goals and 12 assists in both 2008 and 2009.
He earned All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) Second Team recognition in 2008 and he was picked to the NJCAA Region VI Second Team after helping the Busters to the national tournament.
The following year, Agreda led Garden City to a 15-4 overall record and the Busters were ranked as high as No. 4 in the NJCAA national poll during the regular season.
The individual honors continued to pour in. Agreda was voted the 2009 KJCCC Player of the Year and earned first-team all-conference and NJCAA All-Region VI First Team accolades. The national coaches association picked Agreda to the NSCAA All-South Region First Team and he was one of 12 junior college players to earn first-team All-America recognition from the group.
Prior to his arrival at Garden City, Agreda attended Miami South Ridge High School in Florida and competed for Florida club soccer powers Miami Strike Force and Kendall SC.
The NLI signing period for men’s soccer continues through Aug. 1. More information on SU’s 2010 recruiting class will be released as it’s received.