Missouri State men’s soccer coach Jon Leamy announced the addition of six student-athletes to the 2009 squad Monday. Francesco Capone, Jarred Clark, Jared Gain, Kenny Giacobbe, Eric Martin and Trevor Spangenberg have elected to play their college soccer at Missouri State and will be eligible to compete in the 2009 season.

Francesco Capone (D/M Toronto, Ont.   Shattuck - St. Mary’s School (Faribault, Minn.))

Capone was a two-year starter at Shattuck - St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minn., and was selected as a team captain his senior season.  As a junior, he started on an under-18 club team that won state and regional championships while finishing as a national finalist. He also started on an under-17 club team that won their U.S. regional, the American Soccer League tournament and appeared in the semi-finals of the Dallas Cup.  As a freshman and sophomore he was on the Ontario Provincial team and the Canadian national team.

Jarred Clark (D Atlanta, Ga. Chamblee HS)

Clark was a two-year starter and three-year letterwinner at Chamblee (Ga.) High.  As a junior, he led the Bulldogs to a 3-A state championship with 18 assists and 10 goals. In his sophomore season, he tallied 10 assists and eight goals in his team’s elite eight appearance in which the team finished 15-6 on the season.  His freshman season, the team finished 14-4 and was state runner-up in class 4-A. Clark also earned a letter as the kicker on the Bulldogs’ football team his senior season.  

Jared Gain (M O’Fallon, Mo. Fort Zumwalt West HS)

Gain was a four-year starter at midfielder for the Fort Zumwalt West Jaguars. As a senior he led the team in assists, earning him team offensive MVP, first-team all-conference, first-team all-metro and second-team all-state accolades. In his junior and sophomore seasons he earned first and second team all-conference honors respectively. Gain was named to the all-academic team and honor roll all four years of his prep career.

Kenny Giacobbe (M Glen Carbon, Ill. Edwardsville HS)

Giacobbe was a three-year starter and four-year letterman at Edwardsville (Ill.) High, where he led the Tigers to three conference championships and three regional championships.  As a senior, he led the Tigers to a state-runner up finish a top-10 regional ranking and top-50 national ranking, earning him a first-team all-conference and all-state selection.  Giacobbe was also named Player of the Year by the Belleville News Democrat and Alton Telegraph. Giacobbe was a team captain in both his junior and senior seasons while earning team MVP honors in his final three seasons with the Tigers.  As a junior he earned first team all-conference and all-sectional honors.  He earned all-conference and all-region accolades as a sophomore as well.

Eric Martin (F Bentonville, Ark.   Shattuck - St. Mary’s School (Faribault, Minn.))

As a senior, Martin played forward for Shattuck - St. Mary’s prep-school in Faribault, Minn.  Prior to his senior season he attended Bentonville (Ark.) High where he was a two-year starter and letterwinner as a midfielder.  Eric was selected all-conference and all-state as a sophomore and junior.  He was also a three-year starter at midfielder for the Arkansas Comets club team, finishing as state runner-up in all three of his seasons.

Trevor Spangenberg (GK Valparaiso, Ind. Boone Grove HS)  

Spangenberg had an outstanding prep career at Boone Grove High in Valparaiso, Ind.,  where he started every game of his four-year high school career at goalkeeper.  As a senior, he led the Wolves with 12 shutouts and a 0.27 GAA en route to an undefeated season with a 15-0-1 record and a conference championship. For his efforts he was named team captain, team MVP, first-team all-conference in both the Northern Indiana Conference and Porter County Conference, top player in the Northern Indiana Conference and first-team all-area.  He also played on the Chicago Fire Juniors during the club season. As a junior, he recorded 10 shutouts and a 0.62 GAA to finish 13-3-1 on the way to first-team all-conference honors.  His sophomore season he finished ranked in the top 10 in the state with a 0.76 GAA.

Derek Taddie (M  Phoenix, Ariz  Brophy College Prep)

Taddie comes to Missouri State after a successful career with the nationally known Brophy (Ariz.) Broncos.  Taddie was a four-year starter and three-year lettterwinner while leading the Broncos to three consecutive conference championships and back-to-back state championships in 2007 and 2008.  As a senior, Derek led Brophy to an appearance in the state semifinals, was a team captain, a first-team all-Desert Valley Region defender and an all-state honorable mention.  Taddie was also a three-year starter and two-year letterwinner on the Brophy prep volleyball team as an outside hitter.  Derek is the son of Steve and Kathleen Taddie and plans to major in pre-veterinary sciences at Missouri State University.