Charlotte, North Carolina — With the 2024 men's soccer season looming, the Charlotte 49ers head coach Kevin Langan All 14 players under contract for this season were announced.
Charlotte added four Division I transfer students, a 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship Most Outstanding Player, an NJCAA All-American, six freshmen and two international talents. Five of the players are from North Carolina, including two from Charlotte.
“I am excited to announce our Class of 2024,” said Coach Langan. “This class has a good balance of transfer students with great collegiate soccer experience, international players from our professional youth academy, and talented domestic young players. The challenge for our freshmen will be to bring their own unique skill sets to compete at Charlotte Way.”
Elias Alsvol | Sophomore | 6'4 Midfielder | Bern, Norway | Bern FK
In 2022, Alsvold joined Bryne FK, where he made a total of eight appearances over the past two seasons. In 2023, the Bryne native was loaned out to Notodden, where he made ten appearances and scored four goals for the Norwegian third division football club. Alsvold played for Allgård FK from 2015 to 2018, and then for Sandnes Ulf from 2019 to 2022.
Tate Assante | Freshman | 6'3 Midfielder | Calgary, Canada | Calvary FC
Asante joined Cavalry FC in May 2023 after spending two years with the New Frontier club. The Calgary native played for Cavalry FC's U-21 team as a member of the inaugural season of the League 1 Alberta Exhibition Series and signed a development contract with the first team in September 2023. Asante was also a member of the Bayern Munich 2024 World Squad team.
Chris Domer | Junior | 5'11 Forward | Copenhagen, Denmark | Pearl River Community College
Dommer recorded 27 goals, 18 assists and 72 points during his two-year career at Pearl River Community College (2022-2023). A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Dommer started all 36 games he played in as a Wildcat. Dommer led the team with 13 goals and 12 assists and was named to the All-Conference and All-Region First Teams as a freshman in 2022. Last season, the 5-foot-11 forward scored a team-high 14 goals and was named to the All-Conference and All-Region First Teams, as well as the All-American Second Team. He spent his youth career at FC Copenhagen.
Ryan Dunn | Graduate Student | 5'11″ Defender | Huntersville, North Carolina | Stamford | Cox Mill High School
Dunn will play four seasons with the Cardinals from 2020-2023, appearing in a total of 47 games, starting 20 of them. Dunn has recorded three goals and five assists in his Stanford career. The Huntersville, North Carolina native started 14 of the 18 games he played in last season, helping Stanford reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. He recorded a career-high three assists this season, including an assist in the NCAA Tournament third round against Marshall (11/26/23), which earned him Top Drawer Soccer National Team Honorable Mention (11/28/23). Dunn is a three-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll recipient (2021-2023) and was part of the 2020 Stanford team that won the Pac-12 Conference Championship. Dunn is a 2020 graduate of Cox Mill High School and played for the Carolina Rapids from 2016-2020.
Ben Fisher | Junior | 5'10 Defender | Alexandria, Virginia | Virginia Tech | Gonzaga University High School
A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Fisher plans to attend Virginia Tech in 2022. After sitting out as a freshman in 2022, Fisher appeared in eight games for the Hokies last season, starting two. In 2023, he recorded assists against UCLA and Duke for a total of two points. He also started against the Blue Devils, playing a career-high 77 minutes. Fisher graduated from Gonzaga University High School and was a team captain for DC United Academy. He also played for USL's London United and was a trial player for Portugal's SL Benfica 2.
Caleb Hilton | Freshman | 6'2 Defender | Charlotte, North Carolina | Crown Legacy FC | Covenant Day School
Hilton will join the Charlotte FC Academy in August 2023 before joining Crown Legacy FC in January 2024. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Hilton attended Covenant Day School before taking online courses for his senior year of high school.
Ivan Mata | Freshman | 6'2 Defender | Charlotte, North Carolina | Crown Legacy FC | Ardrey Kell High School
Mata, an Ardrey Kell High School graduate, joins the 49ers from Crown Legacy FC, where the 6-foot-2 defender made four MLS Next Pro appearances. The 18-year-old Mata also played for the Charlotte Independence U-20 team and was captain of the Queen City Mutiny U-19 team.
Chadi Mayati | Senior | 6'0 Defender | Montreal, Canada | Florida Atlantic | Montverde Academy
Mayati comes to Charlotte after appearing in 34 games and starting 22 for the Owls from 2021-2023. Last season with the Owls, Mayati led all field players in minutes played with 1,395. He appeared in all 17 games and started all but one. He has recorded three assists throughout his career, including a game-winning assist in a 2-1 win over No. 12 SMU on October 28, 2022. In 2021, the freshman appeared in a total of 12 games, started four times, and played a key role in FAU's advancement to the Conference Championship title game. Born in Morocco, Mayati played at the Soccer Institute of Montbard Academy, where he was named head prefect and recognized as one of the star high school defenders in the state of Florida.
Casey McCloskey | Graduate Student | 5'9 Midfielder | Denver, Colorado | St. Olaf | Regis Jesuit High School
McCloskey will be playing his final year of eligibility at his alma mater after leading St. Olaf to the 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship. McCloskey was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring a total of eight points in the semifinals and finals. The Denver, Colorado native started 68 of the 71 games he played in from 2021-2023 during his St. Olaf career, totaling 25 goals, 24 assists and 74 points. McCloskey has been named All-Conference honorable mention three times and was named to the All-Region Second Team twice. In program history, the midfielder ranks third in assists, fourth in game-winning goals (10), ninth in points and tied for 10th in goals. Academically, McCloskey has received Academic All-Conference Honors three times, Academic All-District Honors twice and was named a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American in 2022-23. Casey's mother and aunt, Katie (Kerin) McCloskey and Molly Kerin, attended Charlotte and both were named All-Conference three times in cross country. Molly was named All-American twice and was Charlotte's first individual cross country champion and All-American.
Eli Mumford | Sophomore | 6'1 Goalkeeper | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Pittsburgh | Richmond Kickers
Mumford did not play as a freshman for the Panthers last season. He signed a USL Academy contract with the Richmond Kickers in February 2022 before joining Pittsburgh in June 2023. Mumford rose to become the third keeper on the Kickers roster and earned a spot on the matchday squad in 2023. A native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Mumford was loaned to Globe Soccer United of the NPSL in 2022 and 2023. Mumford played his youth career with North Carolina FC at the U-12 through U-17 levels. In 2021, he played for Wake FC in USL League Two.
Orthodox Orthodox | Freshman | 6'1 Forward | Nicosia, Cyprus | ASIL Lysi | PASCAL English School Larnaca
Ortodoksou joins Charlotte after spending last season with ASIL Lisi in the Cyprus second division. In the 2023-24 season, Ortodoksou made a total of 23 appearances for ASIL Lisi, scoring three goals and providing two assists. A native of Nicosia, Cyprus, Ortodoksou spent his youth years with AEK Larnaca before joining the first team in 2022. He was loaned to Olympias Limpion in the 2022-23 season, making a total of 20 appearances for Cyprus in the second division. He also made four appearances for the Cyprus U-19 team, making his debut in 2022.
Jadon Richardson | Freshman | 5'11 Forward | Mamaroneck, NY | New York SC | Mamaroneck High School
Richardson spent his youth career with New York Soccer Club of MLS Next. He has played for New York SC for the past eight years. With MLS Next U-17, Richardson has appeared in seven games, started six and scored two goals in the 2022-23 season.
Cole Trollip | Freshman | 6'2 Midfielder | Raleigh, North Carolina | Wake FC | North Raleigh Christian Academy
Trollip is a recent graduate of North Raleigh Christian Academy. During his three years of varsity high school, Trollip appeared in 48 games, recording 30 goals, 24 assists and 84 points. Trollip will play for Wake FC in 2021. During his high school career, he also participated in track and field, competing in the state championships in the 4x400m and open 400m.
Sullivan Twill | Freshman | 6'1 forward | Minnesota, MN | Minnesota Thunder | Edina High School
Twill spent the past two years at the Minnesota Thunder Academy. Prior to joining the Thunder, Twill played for the Evolution Academy in Qatar in 2022.
New Look
Charlotte will incorporate 14 newcomers into the team that went 13-4-1 last season, won the American Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2024 squad will also feature a 2023 All-East Region player. Lyon Tri, Brigham Larsenand Ian PilcherAAC All-Rookie selection Natsuki Ogata.
First Look
The first chance to see the new Niners in action will be in an exhibition match against 2023 national champion Clemson on Aug. 10. The Niners, seeking their 18th career NCAA Tournament appearance, will open the 2024 regular season on Friday, Aug. 23 against Davidson at Transamerica Field.
Ticket Options
Season tickets can be purchased through the Charlotte 49ers Gold Card, with single-match tickets going on sale later this month. Gold Cards are $38 each, or $33 per ticket if multiple tickets are purchased, and provide admission to all home regular season games for men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball.
For the latest on Charlotte men's soccer, follow the team on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and check Charlotte49ers.com for updates.
