Med City FC Helps Players Achieve Division I Dreams
By Med City FC
Nicholas Itopoulos is from South Africa. Claudio Repetto is from Italy. Both found their way to Rochester, Minnesota and Med City FC during the summer of 2018. Each excelled there. Repetto, a forward, played in and started all 14 conference games last season, notching a team-high 11 goals along with two assists. Itopoulos also started all 14 conference games, mostly at center back, scoring four goals. The two were vital to the Mayhem’s success last season.
After Med City FC’s NPSL season ended, Repetto returned to NAIA Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, for his second season. Meanwhile, Itopoulos went back to Salem University, an NCAA Division II school in West Virginia. However, both had a desire to play at a higher collegiate level. And they have pursued and achieved their dreams with help and support of Med City FC coaches and staff.
“We talked to a number of NCAA Division I schools on Claudio and Nick’s behalf after their fall college seasons ended,” says Frank Spaeth, Med City FC’s general manager. “They wanted to know not just what kind of players these guys were, but what kind of people.”
Spaeth says they gave the players glowing reports when speaking with the college coaches. The result? Just as they had been teammates for Med City FC in 2018, the two are now set to be teammates at Coastal Carolina University.
“Our goal is to help our players achieve their soccer goals, whether that’s playing at a higher collegiate level or playing professionally,” Spaeth says. “In just two years we’ve helped players get onto teams in the third division in Spain, the fourth division in Sweden and the lower leagues in England. And now we’ve helped some players jump to higher collegiate levels, too.”
Another former player just informed Spaeth that he’s on his way to Australia to play in that country’s second division. Spaeth hopes to watch, and help, many other Med City FC players make similar leaps in their soccer careers in the years to come.
Photo Credit: Med City FC
