FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- April 19, 2005
CONTACT: Jason Mucher, Director of Athletic Communications (585) 567-9648

 CANADIAN GOALKEEPER SIGNS WITH MEN?S SOCCER

HOUGHTON, N.Y. ? Erik Lefebvre (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has signed a national letter of intent to play men?s soccer at Houghton College, Highlanders coach Matthew Webb announced today.

The son of Carole Blais and Roch Lefebvre, the 6-foot-4 Lefebvre has had a stellar career at goalkeeper on the high school and club levels.

As a member of the Ottawa Royals Men Premier team in 2004, Lefebvre recorded a 0.875 goals against average in 16 games and led the team to an Ontario Cup Championship and a runner-up finish in the Canadian National Championship. He has been a member of the Kanata Soccer Club (U17), and St. Anthony Italia Soccer Club (U18), leading both teams to League Cup and Ontario Cup championship games. His high school (B?trice-Desloges) won league championships in 2002 and 2003.

In 2003 he trained with the Ottawa Wizards of the Canadian Professional Soccer League and earned a tryout with ESTAC Football Club youth team in Troyes, France. He has received additional training at the Elite 300 Soccer Academy, Bryst International Institute, and Golden Gloves Academy.

?Finding a new goalkeeper was the number one priority going into this recruiting season, and Erik clearly fits the bill to continue the tradition of strong goalkeepers at Houghton College,? said Webb. ?He is an excellent addition to our already strong incoming class. His size, athleticism, and unending passion to succeed will give us a physical and dominating presence in the box for the next four years. Having Erik in net will provide a huge boost of confidence for the rest of the team in front of him. I am extremely excited to have him on the squad and am confident that adding his leadership and passion to that of the rest of the squad will help propel our team back to the national level.?

Erik Lefebvre and Coach Webb

Coach Webb, Erik Lefebvre, and former Houghton All-American Sanjeev Parmar, who lives in Ottawa.

Houghton, a Christian college of 1,300 students in Western New York, is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the American Mideast Conference. Houghton has been named a Champions of Character Institution for the past four years for its active involvement in the NAIA?s Champions of Character Initiative, a program that aims to teach the character values of respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership, and sportsmanship through athletics.

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