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Head Coach John Astudillo

The signees include Sola Abolaji (Denver, CO/Eagle Crest/Northern Oklahoma JC), Kevin Balkanloo (Hudson, OH/Hudson/High Point University), Elbrus Tambi (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood), Teddy Ritter (Belford, NJ/Middletown North), Steve Ames (Livonia, NY/Livonia), Marc Stencel (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga), and Jon Martin (Syracuse, NY/Westhill).

Abolaji is a junior college transfer from Northern Oklahoma Junior College where he led a defense that appeared in the JUCO National Championship game the last two years. He was a Colorado Regional ODP Selection.

Balkanloo is a transfer from High Point University where his team went 7-12-1 last season. He was named to the Big South All-Conference team last year as he was part of a defense that assisted in one shutout and five games where only one goal was allowed.

Tambi is a freshman out of Ridgewood, NJ who currently anchors the midfield for his US club team, the World Class LaBomba U18, who are the reigning national champions. He captained his high school team and was a starter since his freshman year. His uncle is Kaz Tambi, who captained the world famous Cosmos, a team that included Pele.

Ritter is the second member of this recruiting class out of the state of New Jersey and the only goalkeeper in the class. Ritter was named to the New Jersey All-State team, as well as first-team All-County. He shutout his opponent 18 times in his high school career and was a team captain since his freshman year.

Stencel, a forward, comes to UB from Cheektowaga High School where he was a first-team All-Western New York selection. He was also a member of the Buffalo United Soccer Club.

Martin, who is also a forward, was a New York All-State selection and a member of the All-Central New York team. As a member of the Syracuse Blitz, he was a three-time State Cup winner.

Ames is a midfielder from Livonia High School where he was a four-time first-team All-County selection. His U17 team, the Rochester Junior Rhinos, were USYSA Region One finalists and champions of the NYS West State Cup. Ames was also a member of the 2003 Empire State Games where his Western New York team took home the gold medal.

Coach Astudillo is very pleased with his recruiting class and thinks they can help a team that was just one step away from reaching the MAC Championship game for the first time in the team's history.

“These players should add depth to our team," Astudillo said. "Our needs are quite specific for next year and the competition should be keen at certain positions. The incentive for the veterans as well as the incoming players will be there and the outcome is always to fare better during MAC competition. We are excited although not finished with the recruiting class for the fall. We lost some key players through graduation and trying to replace them with existing players or recruits is always an exciting and a difficult process. At this level, you need to be constantly improving, especially if we are going to stay strong in the increasingly-competitive Mid-American Conference. Looking at this fall’s recruiting class, we’re confident that big things are on the horizon for the UB men’s soccer program.”

The seven members of the recruiting class, as well as the rest of the Bulls, will kick-off the 2005 season on September 2, against Valparaiso in the UB Fall Classic.