’Woods soccer adds some offensive talent
The College of the Redwoods men’s soccer team added two offensive weapons to its 2020 squad.
Kyle Van Dyke announced a pair of out-of-state recruits will join the program ahead of the head coach’s third season leading the Corsairs.
Tyson Todd, an outsidebacker, is a true freshman out of Millard-North High in Omaha, Nebraska.
Albara Mutleq is a transfer from Johnson and Wales University, a Division-3 college in Denver, Colorado.
The two new additions will look to bolster the attack of a Redwoods club which in 2019 road the strength of its defense to a 7-13 overall record — a substantial year-two turnaround Van Dyke who went saw his club go 0-14-3 in his first season in charge.
“(Todd) reached out to us and sent us his tape. His athleticism stood out immediately,” Van Dyke said. “He’s going to be a guy who can push the ball down the outside of the field and create a lot of opportunities for us. He’s extremely coachable and he’s someone who’ll come in and right away contribute for us.”
Todd said he took a trip to see California for the first time last year and, as a self-proclaimed lover of the outdoors, said he decided he wanted to find a junior college in the state to play soccer.
“I’m a big fishing guy and I love the beach, Redwoods seemed like the spot for me,” Todd said. “My dream was to
play college soccer in California.”
Mutleq is coming to Redwoods with something to prove.
The striker was stuck playing on the defensive side of the field during his time at Johnson and Wales.
Van Dyke said he’d give the soon-to-be Corsair an opportunity to get back to what he does best, and Mutleq couldn’t pass the opportunity up.
“I reached out to coach Van Dyke because I had a teammate here who was talking with him. I told coach about myself and sent him my tape,” Mutleq said. “He said he liked the way I played and said he’d give me an opportunity to play as a striker. Going there and knowing I’m coming in day one in the position I feel best at is a big coincidence boost. I’m a competitor and I’ll play anywhere but it’s good to know the coach has confidence in me.”
Van Dyke said his club’s improved 2019 season has shown up during offseason recruiting.
“It’s a lot easier to reach out to guys and tell them about our improvement and how we are going the right way,” Van Dyke said.
As far as program building goes, Van Dyke and Redwoods are headed in the right direction — and they’re attracting the pieces needed to get there.
“I don’t want to go to a great team and be just another good player,” Mutleq said. “I want to go to a team looking to really do something.”