Penn State men's soccer head coach Barry Gorman announced this week the signing of Florida high school soccer standout Rafael Faria to a National Letter of Intent.
Faria, a forward from Miami, was the 2009 Miami Dade Player of the Year and will begin playing for the Nittany Lions this fall.
"It's a really good signing for us," Gorman said. "It adds another quality player to the returning roster."
Faria heads to Penn State after a notable high school career at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami. In his senior year at Gulliver, Faria earned First Team All- Dade County and First Team All-State honors. He was voted the team's most valuable player and named the Miami Dade Player of the Year after tallying 21 goals and 19 assists. As a junior, Faria scored 24 goals and contributed 20 assists en route to First Team All-Dade County and offensive player of the year awards.
Before attending Gulliver, Faria was enrolled at I.E.A. in Caracas, Venezuela, for his freshman and sophomore years and was named the most valuable player there each season. He contributed 34 goals and 28 assists at I.E.A. and was named to the state team for Distrito Metropolitano.
A former member of the Venezuelan U-17 National Team pool, Faria played club soccer for Centro Italo Venezolano, leading the team to the U-17 national finals in 2006.
Gorman said that Faria stands a chance to earn some significant playing time this coming season, even with a roster that includes two-time All-Big Ten forward Jason Yeisley, 2008 leading scorer Treavor Gelsinger and a slew of talented veterans.
"Faria gives us more competition for spots and playing time," Gorman said. "Obviously, with a freshman coming in, you don't want to put too much pressure on them, but I think he's good enough to challenge for a starting spot."
Faria joins defender Brian Forgue, a two-time NSCAA High School All-American from Glenmoore, Pa., as members of the 2009 Nittany Lions recruiting class. Forgue led Downingtown West to a PIAA Championship in 2008.
Gorman said the objective of recruiting is to raise the bar by finding players who could potentially be better than those already on the roster.
"I think we did that with these guys," he said.
