February 22, 1999

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - University of North Carolina men's soccer coach Elmar Bolowich announced Monday the signing of Carolina's 1999 recruiting class to national letters of intent. The group includes four players, three of whom hail from North Carolina. All will join the Tar Heel program in the fall of 1999.

The class features forwards Stephen Cash (Asheville, N.C.) and Ryan Kneipper (Dallas, Texas) and midfielders Michael Gell (Durham, N.C.) and Matt Crawford (Durham, N.C.). These four student-athletes will be joined by four recruited walk-ons for a total of eight incoming players next season.

"We're very excited about this group of signees," Bolowich says. "With the departure of only one senior from last fall's team, we return all of our starters for the 1999 season. This class adds eight players to our incoming team, so in essence we've made our squad a lot deeper than we were last year.

"We'll have incredible depth at a lot of positions next fall." Carolina went 11-6-2 in 1998, tying for fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. All 11 starters will return for the 1999 campaign, including 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year Chris Carrieri.

North Carolina Men's Soccer 1999 Signees

Player         Pos.    Hometown (Previous School)
Stephen Cash    F      Asheville, N.C. (Myers Park)
Michael Gell    M      Durham, N.C. (Riverside)
Matt Crawford   M      Durham, N.C. (Durham Academy)
Ryan Kneipper   F      Dallas, Texas (Episcopal)