Hermantown’s Early Commits To UWS

Wes Vork-NSO File

Mar 20, 2012

Northland Sports Online

Yellowjacket men’s soccer coach Joe Mooney has added another recruit to what has become a sizable freshman class in 2012, with the commitment of Nick Early to the Yellowjacket program. Early is the ninth high school player to make the decision to attend UW-Superior in the fall and play for Mooney.

Early, a 5-10, 165-pound defender from Hermantown, Minn., just completed his senior season with the Hawks. He was an All-Lake Superior Conference first team selection in 2011, a season when he was also the captain of the Hawks. Following his senior season, Early was chosen to play in the St. Luke’s Orthopedics and Sports Medicine High School Soccer All-Star Game, which pits the best high school players in Duluth against the best players from schools in the surrounding area.

Early was also part of a state runner-up team as a sophomore in 2009.

“Nick is a great addition to our program. As a local player I’ve been able to watch Nick play for a long time and I think he has a lot of potential,” Mooney said. “One thing that stands out for me is his vision from the back line. He sees the field very well and is always in the right place. He makes the right decisions on the ball. Even though he has the skill, he doesn’t try to play out of his ability. This will pay dividends for him at the college level.”

Early also competes at the club level with Hermantown FC.

“UW-Superior is a great liberal arts college and a great fit for me,” said Early, who plans to major in film studies. “It’s close to where I grew up so I know about their athletic programs, that they run at a high level. I’m very excited to play at that level.”

Other 2012-13 UWS Men’s Soccer Recruits are:

Karl Schmidtke – Wayzata (Minn.) High School

John Little – Wayzata (Minn.) High School

Tyler DeHut – Grand Rapids (Minn.) High School

Jacob Friendt – Andover (Minn.) High School

Taylor Lissick – South St. Paul (Minn.) High School

Tadd Speaks – Sartell (Minn.) High School

Ryan Linsmayer – Osceola (Wis.) High School

Peter Correll – Red Wing (Minn.) High School