Ryan Onwukwe (New Hope, Minn./ Fridley Totino-Grace H.S.) has committed to play men’s soccer at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside. Onwukwe is a 6-2, 180-pound goalkeeper, who was a three-year varsity player for the Eagles.
While at Totino-Grace High School, Onwukwe was selected to the 2009 all-state team in Minnesota. The senior captain earned a shutout in the 2009 all-state Senior Classic match.
Onwukwe led Totino-Grace to a third place finish in the Minnesota state high school tournament as a senior and a runner-up spot as a junior.
His club team is Minnesota Thunder Academy which was a state runner-up in 2008. Onwukwe was a two-time state club champion with Bangu-Tsunami.
“Ryan has had an excellent playing experience with some of the top clubs in the state of Minnesota. He comes highly recommended from his club coaches and his camp experience with Camp Shutout,” noted Rick Kilps, who will enter his 27th season as UW-Parkside head coach in the fall of 2010. “Ryan does a nice job of directing the team in front of him. His height and large wingspan allow him to decrease the options for the opponent. He has a good command of the technical aspects of goalkeeping.”
Onwukwe will join a Ranger program which has posted 30 consecutive winning seasons. The team was 13-5-2 last season and finished in fourth place in the 15-school Great Lakes Valley Conference with a record of 8-4-2. UW-Parkside is an NCAA Division II affiliate.