BALTIMORE (Map, News) - The 2006 version of the Towson University men's soccer team advanced further in the NCAA tournament than any other squad in program history. Some of that credit goes to the team's ability to land talent from outside the continental U.S.

The Tigers carried seven foreign players last season, including third-team All-American forward Sebastian Haensel of Leipzig, Germany.

Towson coach Frank Olszewski is apparently looking for lightning to strike twice, as the Tigers landed three foreign recruits among the eight the team signed last week.

“The first thing that we have to account for is their interest in coming to us to pursue a degree,” Olszewksi said. “They're more than on-board with that.”

Defender Phil Greatwich (Lewes Primary/East Sussex, England), forward Ricardo Silva (Sao Luis/Brazil) and midfielder Kyle Thompson (Windsor Secondary/British Columbia, Canada) are among the eight-man recruiting class. Olszewksi said that Silva, the first Brazilian player in Olszewksi’s 25 years at the school, sought out Towson in his search.

The original class had two local products, but Olszewski said Monday that Towson has also added Marco Mangione, whose brother, Nino, is a current midfielder with the team. Joining Mangione are DeMatha defender Brendon Gregoire and McDonogh midfielder Matt Beckman, who transferred in from Maryland.

Beckman played in 36 games over two seasons at College Park, scoring two goals with three assists. While at McDonogh, he scored 68 goals with 37 assists and was honored as an NSCAA All-American. Gregoire helped lead DeMatha to back-to-back Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles and was part of the team that went 67 straight games without a loss.

Finally, the Tigers add a pair from the eastern seaboard, nabbing defender Scott Horta (Notre Dame High/Lawrenceville, N.J.) and midfielder Chris Zecha (William Floyd High/Mastic, N.Y.).

“We're very excited about this group of newcomers,” said Olszewski, the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association coach of the year. “This is a very talented group with people who are high-quality, both athletically and academically.”

The Tigers earned a bye in the first round of the 2006 NCAA tournament before toppling Fairfield 2-0. Towson's 15-2-3 season came to an end with a 2-1 tournament loss at Wake Forest.