SBCC forward Mark Knight, the leading goal scorer in California over the last two years, has made a verbal commitment to play soccer for Louisville in 2009.
“It’s close to a full ride (scholarship) and it’s a very, very good deal,” said Knight, who will visit Louisville next month. “I’ve been looking at my options for the last few weeks. When this offer came along, I couldn’t turn it down.”
The 5-10 sophomore from Woking, England, was heavily recruited. He was also considering UCSB, UC Irvine, Cal St. Northridge, Cal Poly, UC Riverside, Oregon and San Diego State. The official NCAA letter-of-intent signing period for men’s soccer begins Feb. 4.
Knight poured in 31 goals and a state-best 19 assists this season for 81 points, leading SBCC to a 20-5 record and its first Western State Conference title in eight years. The Vaqueros were 32-12-3 during Knight’s two-year tenure, including 22-4-2 in WSC play.
Knight, who led all California JC players in scoring last year (28 goals, 61 points), set school career records for goals (59) and points (142). The WSC Player of the Year appeared in every game the last two seasons, tallying 59 goals in 47 games. He had two hat tricks this year, scoring four times in a 6-1 win over L.A. Mission on Oct. 24 and all three goals in a 3-0 shutout of Moorpark on Nov. 7.
{inset”The Vaqueros went 13-1 in WSC play and reeled off a school-record 13-game win streak, including two Southern Cal Regional playoff wins, before falling in the state quarterfinals to top-seeded Mount San Antonio.
SBCC was the highest-scoring team in California with 90 goals and a 3.6 average. The Vaqueros went 12-1 at home and have won 18 of their last 19 in La Playa Stadium.
Louisville, which competes in the tough Big East Conference, went 11-8-2 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, falling to Jacksonville, 4-3, in overtime in the opening round.
Meanwhile, Waid Ibrahim, a speedy freshman from Accra, Ghana, has made a verbal commitment to play at UCSB. SBCC’s second-leading scorer with 11 goals and seven assists, Ibrahim will be reunited with his Dunn School teammate and countryman, Michael Tetteh.
Scott Wells, a sophomore midfielder from England, will continue his career at West Texas A&M. SBCC coach John Sisterson was the head coach at West Texas before coming to SBCC to coach the women’s team in 2005.
Dave Loveton is SBCC’s sports information specialist.