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University of New Hampshire Athletics
Wildcats Add Six Student-Athletes to 2021 Roster
8/16/2021 1:20:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Wildcats have won three straight America East Championships.
DURHAM, N.H. - University of New Hampshire men's soccer head coach Marc Hubbard has announced the incoming class for the 2021 season: Nils Buchwalder (Bochum, Germany), Luke Fagerson (Medway, Mass.), Wrenano Honeyghan (Cranston, R.I.), Peter Swinkels (San Francisco, Calif.), Gustavo Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico) and Johann von Knebel (Hamburg, Germany).
"We are very proud that we were able to still bring in such an accomplished class despite COVID-19 impacting our budget, but also allowing everyone on our current team the opportunity of an extra season going forward," said Hubbard. "This incoming group will provide an amazing boost to a team that is already very deep and accomplished. We feel that our culture is in a good place, and the depth we will have will challenge everyone from top to bottom as they compete for playing time and ultimately a roster spot. We think this will create a much high-level focus in the training environment and will push our coaching staff to be much more in tune with how we design sessions but also how we communicate to players on a daily basis. This will be the deepest team that we have had at New Hampshire in our tenure and we look forward to seeing what they can accomplish together this Fall as we push to advance further in the national tournament that we have ever before."
The No. 20 nationally-ranked Wildcats will kick off the 2021 season on Thursday, Aug. 26 at Boston University at 7 p.m. UNH's home-opener is versus Colgate on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats will play nine home games. UNH is 34-1-5 all-time at Wildcat Stadium, outscoring the opposition, 78-14.
2021 UNH MEN'S SOCCER INCOMING CLASS
NILS BUCHWALDER
COACH HUBBARD: "Nils is a very mobile center back and will provide good size and strength to our back line. Nils follows a long line of internationals looking to take advantage of our wonderful MBA program and we are excited to have someone of his maturity and level complement a defensive unit that grew a lot over this past year."
LUKE FAGERSON
COACH HUBBARD: "Younger brother of current player Ladd, Luke is a promising local midfielder that we feel was very overlooked in the process. Luke has some very high end potential and we look forward to helping him develop here in Durham. He has great feet for his size and we believe he will continue to grow into his body. The Fagersons are a great family and we are happy to keep the connection going. As a staff we feel very confident that Luke will grow and help us continue to win many games in the future."
WRENANO HONEYGHAN
COACH HUBBARD: "Wren took his time with the process and we are thankful that he and his family ultimately chose to attend UNH this Fall because he feels it is what is best to develop as a person and player. Wren has very good physical abilities for a true freshman and we are excited to see how quickly that translates to a forward core that is already very deep. What we love about Wren is that soccer is a priority in his life and he really wants to work hard to become a professional soccer player. We look forward as a staff to help him channel that passion into becoming the best student-athlete he can be as we feel he has very good potential."
PETER SWINKELS
COACH HUBBARD: "With the departure of Alejandro Robles, it was important to find a goalkeeper who we felt could compete for the starting job. Along with our three other goalies, we feel Peter will add something different having been a starting goalkeeper already and having been previously pursued for some professional options on the west coast. Peter has good hands, is comfortable with the ball at his feet and is a good communicator. Peter is also choosing UNH because we were able to provide a new, unique and exciting graduate program option that could help set him up with job opportunities post soccer career. We know that New Hampshire will provide him with the challenges he desires both on and off the field."
GUSTAVO RODRIGUEZ
COACH HUBBARD: "Tavo's journey to Durham has been a long one and we couldn't be happier to coach a dynamic attacking player with versatility in any wide position or up top. We are excited about his past levels and experience and how that will translate to the expectations and goals of our program. Important to note that what we learned most when recruiting Tavo is that he is a humble, hard-working and thankful human being. He will fit in very well with our team culture and ethos."
JOHANN VON KNEBEL
COACH HUBBARD: "Johann is a very accomplished player and we were lucky to have a great reference from former UNH Goalkeeper Lars Huxsohl. Alumni have become very good promoters of our program and I believe Lars' experience here really gave Johann confidence that we would take care of him and provide a first-class experience. Johann is a versatile midfielder and attacking player that not only has very good technical and passing ability but superior endurance. We look forward to welcoming Johann as we really feel he can add a different type of presence and skill set to an attacking unit that really found its rhythm this Spring."
"We are very proud that we were able to still bring in such an accomplished class despite COVID-19 impacting our budget, but also allowing everyone on our current team the opportunity of an extra season going forward," said Hubbard. "This incoming group will provide an amazing boost to a team that is already very deep and accomplished. We feel that our culture is in a good place, and the depth we will have will challenge everyone from top to bottom as they compete for playing time and ultimately a roster spot. We think this will create a much high-level focus in the training environment and will push our coaching staff to be much more in tune with how we design sessions but also how we communicate to players on a daily basis. This will be the deepest team that we have had at New Hampshire in our tenure and we look forward to seeing what they can accomplish together this Fall as we push to advance further in the national tournament that we have ever before."
The No. 20 nationally-ranked Wildcats will kick off the 2021 season on Thursday, Aug. 26 at Boston University at 7 p.m. UNH's home-opener is versus Colgate on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats will play nine home games. UNH is 34-1-5 all-time at Wildcat Stadium, outscoring the opposition, 78-14.
2021 UNH MEN'S SOCCER INCOMING CLASS
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | Ht. | Hometown/Previous Club |
| Nils Buchwalder | Fr. | B | 6-1 | Bochum, Germany/RSV Meinerzhagen e.V. |
| Luke Fagerson | Fr. | M | 6-2 | Medway, Mass./NEFC |
| Wrenano Honeyghan | Fr. | F | 6-2 | Cranston, R.I./Bayside FC |
| Peter Swinkels | Gr. | GK | 6-1 | San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco State |
| Gustavo Rodriguez | Jr. | M | 5-10 | Mexico City, Mexico/Franklin Pierce |
| Johann von Knebel | Gr. | M | 6-1 | Hamburg, Germany/FC Eintracht Norderstedt |
NILS BUCHWALDER
COACH HUBBARD: "Nils is a very mobile center back and will provide good size and strength to our back line. Nils follows a long line of internationals looking to take advantage of our wonderful MBA program and we are excited to have someone of his maturity and level complement a defensive unit that grew a lot over this past year."
- A member of RSV Meinerzhagen e.V. from 2016-2021
- Won the Westfalenpokal 2020
- Team was promoted in 2017, 2018 and 2019
- Also played for Rot-Weiß Lüdenscheid e.V. from 2014-2016 as he was a team captain in 2016
- Graduated from Ruhr-Universität-Bochum in 2021
LUKE FAGERSON
COACH HUBBARD: "Younger brother of current player Ladd, Luke is a promising local midfielder that we feel was very overlooked in the process. Luke has some very high end potential and we look forward to helping him develop here in Durham. He has great feet for his size and we believe he will continue to grow into his body. The Fagersons are a great family and we are happy to keep the connection going. As a staff we feel very confident that Luke will grow and help us continue to win many games in the future."
- Played for NEFC and was a team captain from 2019-2021
- Ranked as a Top 20 player in New England by New England Soccer Journal and was on the All-American Watch List
- Team won the state championship and the IMG Cup Invitational
- Spent three years with New England Revolution Academy and was a team captain in 2016-2017
- Three-year member of the varsity team at Medway High School as he was a team captain in 2020, while he earned All-State, Eastern Mass. All-Star, Boston Herald All-Scholastic, MetroWest Daily News All-Star and Team MVP honors
- Team won the Div. 3 Eastern Mass. Championship, was a State Finalist, were Div. 3 South Sectional champions and Tri-Valley League champions
WRENANO HONEYGHAN
COACH HUBBARD: "Wren took his time with the process and we are thankful that he and his family ultimately chose to attend UNH this Fall because he feels it is what is best to develop as a person and player. Wren has very good physical abilities for a true freshman and we are excited to see how quickly that translates to a forward core that is already very deep. What we love about Wren is that soccer is a priority in his life and he really wants to work hard to become a professional soccer player. We look forward as a staff to help him channel that passion into becoming the best student-athlete he can be as we feel he has very good potential."
- Played for Bayside FC from 2016-2021 as the team won the state championship in 2017, 2018 and 2019
- Four-year member of the varsity team at La Salle Academy as he tallied 47 goals and 24 assists for 118 points
- Team won the state championship in 2019
- Two-time All-State First Team, All-State Second Team once, four-time All-Division First Team and three-time Team Player of the Year
PETER SWINKELS
COACH HUBBARD: "With the departure of Alejandro Robles, it was important to find a goalkeeper who we felt could compete for the starting job. Along with our three other goalies, we feel Peter will add something different having been a starting goalkeeper already and having been previously pursued for some professional options on the west coast. Peter has good hands, is comfortable with the ball at his feet and is a good communicator. Peter is also choosing UNH because we were able to provide a new, unique and exciting graduate program option that could help set him up with job opportunities post soccer career. We know that New Hampshire will provide him with the challenges he desires both on and off the field."
- Graduated from San Francisco State as he was a four-year member of the men's soccer team and was a captain in 2020
- Appeared in 42 games with 17 shutouts
- Won the CCAA Hal Charnofsky Memorial Award and received CCAA Honorable mention accolades twice (2018, 2019)
- Three-time Scholar Athlete
GUSTAVO RODRIGUEZ
COACH HUBBARD: "Tavo's journey to Durham has been a long one and we couldn't be happier to coach a dynamic attacking player with versatility in any wide position or up top. We are excited about his past levels and experience and how that will translate to the expectations and goals of our program. Important to note that what we learned most when recruiting Tavo is that he is a humble, hard-working and thankful human being. He will fit in very well with our team culture and ethos."
- Played the 2020-2021 season at Franklin Pierce as he posted one goal and one assist for three points as the team played three games
- Was a member of the U23 Mexican National Team
- Played for Pumas UNAM from 2012-2019
- He was a team captain in the 2015-2016
- Team was second place in Liga BBVA MX 2015
JOHANN VON KNEBEL
COACH HUBBARD: "Johann is a very accomplished player and we were lucky to have a great reference from former UNH Goalkeeper Lars Huxsohl. Alumni have become very good promoters of our program and I believe Lars' experience here really gave Johann confidence that we would take care of him and provide a first-class experience. Johann is a versatile midfielder and attacking player that not only has very good technical and passing ability but superior endurance. We look forward to welcoming Johann as we really feel he can add a different type of presence and skill set to an attacking unit that really found its rhythm this Spring."
- Member of FC Eintracht Norderstedt from 2018-2021
- Posted 19 goals and 13 assists for 51 points over 71 games
- Team was 2020 Cup winners
- Graduated from Hochschule Fresenius
Players Mentioned
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