Cougars sign two from Ohio

By Dan Stillwell
Register-Herald Sports Writer

Mountain State University was pretty good at scoring goals last fall in its debut season.

The defense, however, needed some work.

Coach John Birkelbach is addressing the problem during the offseason. He has already recruited several top-notch defenders, including Woodrow Wilson sweeper Chaz Turner and left back Eric Randall, and New Zealand standout Joel Hicks.

This week, Birkelbach announced two more signings, including defender Alex Thompson and midfielder Dustin Zimmerman, both from Granville Christian Academy in Ohio.

“I’ve really gone after some defenders,” Birkelbach said. “They’ll tighten up our defense a lot.”

Thompson played sweeper and left fullback as a four-year letterman at Granville, which was the 2006 state runner-up in the Ohio Association of Christian Schools.

Granville’s team captain his junior and senior seasons, Thompson was first-team all-Athletic League for Private Schools in 2005 and first-team all-Central Ohio Buckeye Conference in 2006.

“Alex is a strong defender who wins the ball and knows what to do when he gets it,” Birkelbach said. “He’ll play either central defender or outside back.”

No stranger to Beckley, he played club ball for NASA Xtabi, which makes regular appearances in the annual Darrell Moore Memorial Tournament.

He is the younger brother of MSU goalkeeper Adam Thompson.

“We’ve added some solid defenders, which will allow Ali Katrib and Charlot Nacius to play a full season at striker,” Birkelbach said. “Both of them scored 10 goals, but only played four or five games at striker.”

Zimmerman, also a four-year letterman at Granville and co-captain the past three years, should add even more offensive punch to the Cougars.

He was a first-team all-Athletic League for Private Schools selection for three years, including 2005 Player of the Year, and first-team selection and Player of the Year for the Central Ohio Buckeye Conference.

“Dustin is a creative midfielder with the ability to hold the ball and take players on the dribble,” Birkelbach said. “He is a classic offensive center-midfielder, playing through balls to forwards and setting them up.”

Zimmerman holds the single-game, single-season and career assist records at Granville and also played for NASA Xtabi.

“My job is to get him to do the same thing he did in high school, and also to score goals himself,” Birkelbach said.

Mountain State concluded its inaugural season with a 5-11 mark, including a 2-1 upset win over host Berea in the NAIA regional.

The Cougars have since joined the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Birkelbach expects to have a roster of at least 20 players for the fall.

“We had 17 last year, and three of them transferred and a few are not coming back,” he said. “We’re still recruiting and adding players.”

MSU lost several close games, including two in the final minute.

“We lost a couple of games we shouldn’t have due to our lack of experience and being unlucky,” Birkelbach said. “But we had a four-game winning streak at the end, including the playoff win.

“This year our goal is to compete for the KIAC championship. A winning record is very possible.”

The Cougars begin practicing Aug. 6. Their first home game is Sept. 8 against Kentucky Christian.