Submitted photo – Rocco Previde with CR soccer coach Kyle Van Dyke, left, and CR throwers coach Eric Wright, right.

By Ray Hamill — College of the Redwoods men’s soccer head coach Kyle Van Dyke has added two more local recruits to his roster for the fall, and he expects to have plenty of competition all over the field with around 24 players having committed to play.

McKinleyville’s Rocco Previde became the latest to commit his future to the team on Thursday, following Eureka’s Luis Romero, who signed his letter last week.

Previde, who will also compete in track and field for the Corsairs, will help anchor the team’s defense.

“He’s just a good athlete and he has good size, and he’ll really help us out in the back,” Van Dyke said.

With plenty of depth on the roster, Van Dyke expects the defense to be a team strength this fall.

Romero, meanwhile, will play in attack and is also expected to have an immediate impact at the next level.

Submitted photo – Luis Romero at his letter signing last week.

“He’s just very, very good going forward,” the head coach said. “I know he’ll be dangerous up front for us.

“He will come in and be a key point of our attack right away.”

The duo join a recent list of local recruits that includes Fortuna’s Braiden Barsanti and Alonso Garcia, Del Norte’s Jin Vue and Eureka’s Jesus Parra, the latter of whom is transferring back to the area after a year at Santa Rosa JC.