Loyola men add pair to Class of 2014

Standout high school student-athletes Diego McQuestion (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School) and Thurman Van Riper (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable Regional High School) have signed to compete for the Loyola University Maryland men’s soccer program beginning in the Fall of 2010, Loyola Head Coach Mark Mettrick announced today.
 
A local product who attended high school less than a mile from the Loyola campus, McQuestion was a top midfielder for Gilman School. He earned four letters in both soccer and ice hockey and helped the Greyhounds’ soccer team rank in the top seven in the State of Maryland during the last two seasons.
 
McQuestion was a three-time All-Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) ‘A’ Conference selection, earning the honors from 2007-09. He also was named to the Baltimore Sun All-Metro Second Team in 2008 and 2009 and was an All-Baltimore City First Team member from his sophomore year forward.
 
In four years at Gilman, McQuestion scored 43 goals and assisted on 51 others, leading the Greyhounds in scoring as a freshman, sophomore and senior. He spent the last three seasons as a member of the Baltimore Bays Chelsea Development Academy teams.
 
“It is always good to get a promising local player,” Mettrick said of McQuestion. “Diego competes on one of the top academy teams in the country in the Baltimore Chelsea Bays. We think Diego has very good technical ability and possesses a very educated left foot. I am pleased he will be joining our program.”
 
Van Riper has been a top goalkeeper in the Boston area since becoming a starter for Groton-Dunstable Regional High School during his freshman season. He was named an All-State and Lowell Sun All-Star in 2009 after earning Central Massachusetts All-Star honors in 2008 and 2009.
 
He helped the Crusaders reach their division semifinals in 2006 and 2009 and the division quarterfinals after the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Van Riper posted a 0.61 goals against average as a senior in 2009 and had a 0.79 goals against average during his last three seasons as a high school goalkeeper.
 
Van Riper has played for the F.C. Greater Boston Bolts, a U.S. Soccer Development Academy team, from 2007-2009. He helped the Bolts reach the Disney Showcase finals in 2007 and take fourth place at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals in 2009.
 
“We think Thurman is a quality young man who will strengthen our goalkeeping group,” Mettrick said. “We think he has a very good mentality and he impressed us in our summer camp last year. He has good size at 6-foot-3 and has a good physical presence in the box.”
 
When McQuestion and Van Riper join the Greyhounds in 2010, Loyola will be looking to earn its fourth-consecutive bid to the NCAA College Cup. The Greyhounds have advanced to the tournament each of the last three seasons, possessing a 48-13-5 record during that stretch.