Men's Soccer | August 3, 2026

MORROW, Ga. – Head men's soccer coach Pete Petersen announced on Monday afternoon the 2026 Clayton State University men's soccer incoming class.  This class consists of 18 newcomers from six countries and three states.
 
PETE PETERSEN QUOTE
"In the last five seasons, Clayton State men's soccer has celebrated a lot of good overall success," said Coach Pete Petersen. "Our teams have been competitive in both the PBC and NCAA tournaments, have been solid academically, and have produced All-Region and All-American selections.  Those guys are all gone and we have many new faces on this team for the 2026 season.  I cannot wait to start working with this new team and see how they work with the returners.  I am so excited to get this season started."
 
FORWARDS

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Coach Petersen welcomes four forwards to the team this season.  Highlighting the forwards are Finnish players Casper Hyypia and Arttu Leivonen.  Hyypia comes to Clayton State after playing club soccer with FC Futura, which is a part of the Finnish Cup League.  A native of Muurame, Finland, Leivonen also brings a wealth of experience to the team.  Arrtu played his club ball for JJK Jyvaskyla, which competes in Ykkonen League.  In addition, Leivonen was a former U16 & U17 Finnish National Team member. 


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Rounding out the forward class are Luis Ramirez and Ethan Elmore.  Ramirez was a three-time All-Region selection and was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year as well as a first team All-State and All-County performer as a senior.  The Atlanta native played his club ball for Inter Atlanta.  Elmore, who is a native of Lawrenceville, is the all-time leading scorer in South Forsyth HS history.  In addition, Elmore is a three-time All-Region selection and earned All-State and All-County as a senior.  Ethan played his club soccer with NASA.  This group of forwards will join a unit that includes JUCO All-American Adrian Gallegos, 2024 PBC All-Conference selection Fallah Johnson, Fabian Wagner, and Emmanuel Alerte. 


 
MIDFIELDERS

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The Lakers welcome four midfield newcomers.  Highlighting this group of newcomers is former Georgia Southwestern captain Lucas Schofield.  In 51 matches, Schofield scored five goals and added five assists in his career at Georgia Southwestern and Drury University.  In addition, Lucas fired 87 shots and put 37 on frame.  Schofield is a native of Bolton, England and played his club soccer for FC Halifax Town.  Rounding out the midfielders are freshmen standouts Josh Thomas, Gio Echanique, and Bennett VanGilder. Thomas, who is a native of Eastbourne, England, was a former three-time County Cup Champion as well as a National Football and Futsol Champion.  Thomas played his club soccer at Eastbourne United.  Echanique was a two-time varsity letter winner for Rome HS.  There, he earned the Top Goal Scorer Award and first-team All-Region as a senior.  In addition, he finished as the runner-up Region Player of the Year and helped his team to two-straight playoff berths. VanGlider, who is a freshman from Woodstock, Ga., had a great career at River Ridge HS.  In his four seasons, Bennett scored 27 goals and notched 12 assists in 68 matches.  VanGlider also led his team to four-straight trips to the GHSA State Championship including winning the 2024 & 2025 championships.  
 


This crew is joined by an experienced core consisting of Joao Amaral, All-Conference standout Camilo Velez, Eric Cruz, and Adrian Lopez.
 
DEFENDERS | GOALKEEPERS

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Coach Petersen welcomes nine defenders and one goalkeeper to the team in the 2026 season.  Highlighting this position are Agustin Bezara, Jurica Folnegovic, Anthony Vermorel, and Ethan Goldstone.  The four Lakers are natives of Sunrise, Fla., Croatia, France and South Africa, respectively.  Bezara transferred from Miami Dade JC where he played in 36 matches. Agustin led his team, as captain, to the National Tournament in his freshman season after seeing his team go 13-5-2 overall and 10-1-1 in the region.  Folnegovic graduated from XV Gymnasium and played all four seasons on varsity.  He captained the team as a senior and played his club soccer with the NK Rudes.  Vermorel arrives in Morrow after a season with Harcum College where he played in six matches.  In France, Anthony played his club soccer with As Beziers and attended Jean Moulin Beziers high school.  Goldstone, who is a native of South Africa, transferred from Montgomery College where he played in 22 matches and recorded four assists.  Ethan helped his team win 16 matches and the DI Region 20, East District Championships and the National Championship Tournament.   
 

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Following those four players are Miguel Goncalves, Koen Edwards, and Alex Roseboro.  Goncalves, a transfer from Bethany Lutheran, scored five goals and added 10 assists in his lone season.  Those 10 assists are good for a conference second best.  Goncalves earned UMAC first-team All-Conference and All-Academic honors. Edwards, who transferred from Oglethorpe University, played in eight matches and notched a pair of assists in his lone season.  In high school, Edwards was the co-captain his senior season was a two-time Midfielder of the Year and Middle Region All-Tournament team selection.  A native of Macon, Ga., Roseboro arrives to Clayton State from Mount De Sales Academy where he was a three-time All-Region selection and received all-state and all-star honors as a senior.  Roseboro played his club ball at Angelos FC in the UPSL.
 

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Cade Edwards and Junior Moreno round out the newcomers on the defensive side of the ball. Edwards transferred from Southern Union College and played in 16 matches and dished out an assist in route to a Region 22 Championship and a National Tournament appearance.  While at Auburn HS, Edwards captained the team and earned Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and was an All-State and All-Region performer.  Rounding out the newcomers is Junior Moreno.  Junior was a four-year varsity letter winner at North Atlanta HS where he was a GACA All-State selection in his senior year and was a second-team All-Region as a sophomore.  He was also a two-time team MVP.   He was also the captain of Concorde Fire and led his club team to the National Semifinals Sonny Simpson, who captains the team, is the lone returner from this defensive unit. 
 




Coach Petersen concludes his newcomer class with goalkeeper Chase Boyce.  Boyce, who played his club soccer for Lanier Soccer Academy. Chase played only one season of high school soccer at Lakeside High School. Boyce is joining the goalkeeper's room with George Roke, Rodrigo Julian, and Kalle Kuisma. 
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lakers host Christian Brothers University to open its 2026 season at Laker Field on Thursday, August 27^th at 7 p.m. Please visit claytonstatesports.com for more information. 
 
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