Greenville, S.C. -- Fabien Vorbe, a standout for Haiti’s Under-17 World Cup squad, and Virginia Tech transfer midfielder Jonathan Collier have been added to Furman’s 2008 men’s soccer signing class, it was announced this week by Paladin head coach Doug Allison.
“We are excited about Fabien and Jonathan joining our program and excited about this class as a whole,” said Allison. “We graduated an outstanding class of seniors, three of which are playing professionally, and we think this group can help us continue to build on that success. We can’t wait to get to get started with this group in August.”
Vorbe, a 5-foot-11 forward, was the leading scorer in CONCACAF U-17 qualifying in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as Haiti shocked the region by earning a berth in last summer’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea. The striker netted his nation’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw with the hosts before helping the Haitians to a 0-0 draw with defending world champions Mexico. In the final match of qualifying, Vorbe scored again to lead Haiti past El Salvador 3-0 and clinch his country’s first appearance in a World Cup final at any level since the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany.
In Korea, Vorbe started in all three matches, including a draw with France. Vorbe, now a member of Haiti’s U-20 squad, led his country to the 2006 U-16 Caribbean championship. A member of club team Violette AC, he is also a part of a famous footballing family in Haiti that produced Charles, Sebastian and Germany ?74 participant Phillipe Vorbe.
Collier, a native of Fayetteville, Ga., and 2006 graduate of Fayette County High School, appeared in 29 matches and earned 11 starts in two seasons at Virginia Tech. He totaled a goal and two assists this past season as the Hokies posted a 14-4-5 record and advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the first time.
Prior to college, Collier earned NSCAA/adidas High School All-America accolades and was a member of the United States’ U-17 men’s national team residency program. He led his club team, the Atlanta Fire United, to titles at the Score at the Shore and Atlanta Cup. He was a four-time Region III ODP player and two-time Super Y Regional team member.
Vorbe and Collier join an already accomplished Furman class that includes a number of players with national recognition and national team experience. Midfielder Coleton Henning is a two-time NSCAA/adidas High School All-American and two-time Gatorade Kansas State Player-of-the-Year honoree. Defender Chris Klute, a member of the 2007 U.S. U-17 World Cup squad and current member of the U.S. U-20 pool, was recently named NSCAA/adidas Youth All-America. Defender/midfielder Warren Creavalle is the captain of the Region III ODP squad and participated in the adidas ESP camp last year.
Furman, which returns seven starters for the 2008 campaign, is coming off one of its most successful seasons in school history posting a 19-4-0 record and top 25 national ranking in 2007. The Paladins claimed the Southern Conference regular season and tournament crowns before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In January, all-americans Jon Leathers (Kansas City Wizards) and Shea Salinas (San Jose Earthquakes) were both selected in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft. Leathers has led all 2008 MLS draftees having played 240 minutes so far this season. Midfielder Eliot Paschalis signed with the Richmond Kickers and quickly earned playing time with the USL squad.
2008 Signing Class
Name Pos. Hometown Previous School Club Team
Eric Cobleigh MF Acworth, Ga. Harrison High School Cobb FC ?89 Premier
*Jonathan Collier MF Fayetteville, Ga. Virginia Tech Atlanta Fire United
Warren Creavalle D/MF Acworth, Ga. North Cobb High School North Atlanta
Soccer Association
Coleton Henning MF/F Shawnee, Kan. St. Thomas Aquinas High School Kansas
City Futbal Club
Walker Jernigan D/MF Decatur, Ga. The Paideia School CobbFC/Concorde Fire
Elite
Alec Kann GK Decatur, Ga. Lakeside High School Tucker Youth Soccer
Association
Chris Klute D Grand Prairie, Texas Edison Acdemic Center Dallas Texans
South
Amadu Ndiaye D Doraville, Ga. Lakeside High School Tucker Youth Soccer
Association
Fabien Vorbe F Port-au-Prince, Haiti Lyce Alexander Dumas Violette AC
* - transfer