Zaikos Joins Men's Soccer Mix

URBANA, Ohio (July 16, 2012) - Canadian goalkeeper Matt Zaikos became the 4th international recruit to join the Urbana University men's soccer team this offseason when he signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Blue Knights this fall.  The 6'2" keeper from Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a 2011 graduate from Brother Andre CHS in Toronto.  He was a 3-year captain of his high school soccer team.  This past fall, Zaikos played his freshman year at Indiana Tech University.  He also has experience playing in the Canadian Soccer League with the York Region Shooters Reserves, where he hellped lead the team to the finals. Currently, Zaikos is the starting keeper in the OSL with Olympiakos.  He performed his technical training with Everton and Wigan Youth Academy's in England.

According to Head Blue Knight Men's Soccer Coach Nick Roberts, “Matt will join Darragh McGinley and Josh Bechtol as another talented and capable goal keeper on this squad.  He already has a year under his belt at the NAIA level, and we are extremely excited to have Matt join us and provide us with further talent, competition and depth in a position that has been difficult for us to fill in the past.”

Last fall, the Blue Knights were left without an experienced keeper after McGinley suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on a late goal against Tiffin in the 13th game of the season.  The 6-5-1 Blue Knights lost the game and began a 5-game losing streak that included 3 overtime losses while using defenders as replacement goalies.