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Freddy Llerena Signs with Defending Patriot League Champions
American Adds Dangerous Attacking Midfielder to Outstanding Class

April 18, 2002

WASHINGTON - American University’s men’s soccer program has announced the signing of Freddy Llerena (Germantown, Md./Northwest) to a National Letter of Intent. The announcement was made by head coach Todd West.

“We are extremely excited that Freddy will be joining the American men’s soccer program,” said West, who is entering his third season at the helm of the program. “He is a dynamic player that sees the entire field. He is one of the best I have seen at putting his teammates in dangerous scoring situations.”

Llerena, a 5-7, 150-pound attacking midfielder, was a First-Team All-State and All-County selection as a senior at Northwest High. As a junior he was named Honorable Mention All-State, and was a First-Team All-County pick. Llerena also played club ball for the D.C. Stoddert Strikers.

Llerena joins an outstanding class that already includes J.J. King (Damascus, Md./Damascus) Jeff Rosenthal (Dallas, TX), and Gordon Templeman (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial).

American earned a berth in the 2001 Men’s College Cup by virtue of the Patriot League championships, and advanced to the Sweet 16, where the Eagles finally fell to eventual National Champion North Carolina, 1-0, in overtime. The Eagles advanced to the round of 16 with consecutive wins over Ohio State (2-1), and Wake Forest (3-0), in the first two rounds. It was American’s third trip all-time to the Sweet 16, and first since 1997. The 2001 Patriot League champions, American went 13-7-2 overall in 2001, and 6-1-0 in league play.

American University became a full member of the Patriot League on July 1, 2001. The University, founded in 1893, fields a 19-sport Division I athletics program, featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men.