Men's Soccer recruits expected to make immediate impact

The Keelhaulers added three new recruits this week as the program looks to reach new levels in 2018.

Men's Soccer Head Coach George Konstantinopoulos has had a busy winter as he looks to improve his roster for next season, signing two local recruits and one southern Californian who have had a lot of success in the high school and club levels.

Once childhood teammates, Ezra Dickens and Manny Cabrera Jr. will reunite on the pitch at the college level when the two local soccer players head to California State University Maritime Academy in the fall.

"It feels amazing," said Dickens, a 6-foot-4 defender for the Bulldogs. "I remember checking my email and seeing the acceptance letter, and it took away so much stress. I really wanted to be accepted to Cal Maritime and now I'm playing soccer for them. It's more than anything I could ever ask for."

Dickens played for Vacaville High and Davis Legacy Soccer Club. He scored the winning goal in the finals of Nomad's Soccer Thanksgiving Tournament, one of the largest tournaments in the U.S.

Cabrera has dreamed of playing college soccer since he was a kid. Every decision he's made has been with the intent of furthering his soccer career.

"It's always been a dream and always been a goal of mine," said Cabrera, a forward for the Vikings. "My family has pushed me from the start. I've sacrificed so many things — playing at different clubs and doing whatever I could to make it. It felt great to finally sign those papers."

Cabrera also plays for Placer United Soccer Club, where he we was a two-time champion for the Surf Cup, the top invitational tournament in the U.S.

Before going their separate ways, Dickens and Cabrera were teammates from 2008-14 at Vacaville United Soccer Club. The two friends split off to different club teams in high school.

"He knows soccer really well," Dickens said of Cabrera. "Being on the defensive side of the field, you're always trying to place someone in and find the quickest way out. He knows his position really well and can make those runs that will get us goals and change a game."

Konstantinopoulos, who took the reigns at Cal Maritime prior to the 2016 season, has known Cabrera since he was 13 years old. He met Dickens through Davis Legacy.

"I've known Manny for quite some time and I think he's the best player on Vanden's team, he just hasn't necessarily had the pieces around him there," said Konstantinopoulos. "The same can probably be said for Ezra. We had them out for a kick around and they both stood out. I think they're both going to be starters for us next year."

With the additions of Dickens and Cabrera, the Keelhaulers are counting on new blood to get the program back on track.

"I think he (Konstantinopoulos) puts a lot of trust in us and knows we're good players," Dickens said. "There's a lot of good players coming in as well and I think he puts a lot of trust in all of us to change the program. And I'm sure we can do it. I'm sure we can go from a team that's not very well known to being a good team to being one of the top dogs."

"I'm excited to get going," Cabrera added. "Everything Coach George (Konstantinopoulos) has said sounds great."

Engineering, maybe even more so than soccer, is what drew the two local soccer products to Cal Maritime.

CSUM has a highly ranked engineering program, and both Dickens and Cabrera admitted that was important to them.

"This is a really good engineering school and that's the route I want to go," Dickens said. "I looked at a lot of colleges that offered engineering and this one stood out. They have a really high percentage of graduates being hired right out of college."

The Keelhaulers also received a committment from Keegan Flynn (pictured right) of Aliso Niguel HS in Southern California. The winger is known for his slick moves and ability to dribble through defenders, and should be a big plus for Cal Maritime's offense.

Mack Drake of the Vacaville Reporter contributed to this article