A talented group of 10 players will join the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men“s soccer team next fall as Jon Coleman announced his first recruiting class as head coach.

Seven players hail from Minnesota, while the remaining three come from Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Coleman brings in an impressive group of players with explosiveness, scoring ability and a very high level of skill.

Twin brothers Aaron and Abe Gibbons from Minneapolis, Minn., are the highlight of this year“s class. The duo combined for a staggering 157 points their senior season of high school and maintained their team“s No. 1 state ranking most of the season.

"Abe is very versatile and has great soccer savvy," Coleman said. “And Aaron is a solid player that will fit into the Panther style of play.”

Elliott Dunn is the lone Wisconsin native in the class. The Muskego High senior finished his career as the school“s all-time leader in goals and assists. Dunn brings a laundry list of awards to Milwaukee, including being named first-team all-state his senior season.

"Elliott is a very explosive player that has a lot of potential," said Coleman. "It's nice having good players in your backyard.”

While the Panthers have lost five seniors for next year, including forwards Steve Sperl and Dale Weiler, the team returns eight starters hoping to improve on last fall“s 8-9-2 season.

“We“re bringing in a lot of attack power,” said sophomore keeper Ryan Germann. “But it“s hard to judge players before they“re here. Their stats look good in high school but the college game is a lot different.”

The Panthers are looking for the soon-to-be freshmen to make an immediate impact for the team.

“It“s a large class, with four or five guys that can play right away,” said junior midfielder Zeke Dombrowski. “For the rest of the guys, it“s a learning process for the future. We“ll have a good amount of seniors that these guys can learn from.”

After winning four of the last six Horizon League regular season championships, the Panthers soccer tradition forges ahead with hopes of recapturing the top spot in the conference.

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