Roadrunners Soccer Club, Downers Grove, IL - Erik Rozanski of B2003 Premier has committed to play Division-I soccer for Loyola - Chicago.  Erik will be joining the Ramblers this upcoming fall in Rogers Park, the club his teammates couldn’t be excited and proud of Erik.  Erik will join the 2021 recruiting class and start pre-season training with the team in August. 

Loyola competes in the Missouri Valley Conference and is coming off a 7-4-2, 2020 abbreviated spring season due to the pandemic which saw them come within one game of the NCAA D-1 post-season tournament. 

Erik has played for Roadrunners SC from age 13, starting out as thirteen year old on B2003 Premier, Erik instantly made an impact and quickly worked himself into the starting XI. 

It was a tough recruiting process for Erik, B2003 Premier as of January 2020 was scheduled to compete in showcases college identification events all over the country for the Spring/Summer 2020 season then the pandemic hit, cancelling all the games the team had lined up.  Division 1 coaches were not allowed to attend any games until June 1st, 2021,  “It’s been a long process in finally committing to Loyola. I feel that the most important aspect of my journey was to keep my options open. At the start of my process Loyola was just one of my many dream schools to attend and play soccer at, and as I started to connect with various coaches, many doors closed, but many more opened. Having Coach Jared help put me in touch with the assistant coach at Loyola, Coach Brennan, and actually get him to come see me in games really helped playing soccer at Loyola really happen for me. Being able to play in front of a coach and show what you truly have to offer is an opportunity that one should never pass up. After both Coach Jones (head coach) and Coach Brennan saw me play they brought me on campus for a visit and finally offered me a spot on the team for the fall” - Erik on the recruiting process. 

To get a player to the next level it takes a full age group.  B2003 Premier has been committed to improvement. Many on the team started out together at Roadrunners as 7 year old players, some players have always been first team players and some have had to work themselves up the ranks.  It takes a competitive, fluid environment and strong team culture to get players to the next level.  “Ever since I joined the club as a U14 player, I’ve been blessed to experience so many amazing moments both as a team and personally. From making it to the State Cup final to going to Nationals 3 years in a row, I really don’t think I could’ve achieved this kind of success at any other club. I feel the Roadrunners culture is the perfect mix of fun and competition, which a lot of clubs don’t offer, and which helped us achieve so much. The great coaching staff as well as players really helped in fostering my development and the team as whole.” Erik on the role of Roadrunners SC in his development. 

“Before the Covid-19 Pandemic I was certain Erik would get to the D1 level, we had a good number of events lined up and had conversations with different college coaching staffs on when and where they would see the boys play, his talent and ability were never in question.  However, as things started to be postponed and eventually cancelled the process become unclear and at times, downright depressing, we are very thankful Coach Jones and Coach Brennan at Loyola trusted our relationship and never gave up on Erik, I can not wait to see what Erik’s game looks like in after a year in their program”  Coach Jared said about navigating this process through the pandemic. “In many ways Erik’s potential is untapped, he has always been very talented and it was easy for him to rise within our team, Erik also would help out our B2000 Premier team and proved their he can play against the bigger faster stronger players, however once Erik is training consistently with a D1 men’s team his game is going to take off, his 1v1, his quickness, his running ability check all the D1 boxes, but it's his soccer brain and cleverness that will see him rise quickly to one of the best players in the Missouri Valley, he can beat you in an unlimited number of ways and the D1 environment will only make him sharper and better”

Erik is thankful for the 5 great years at Roadrunners, he is ultimately thankful for his teammates and the experiences they have had as Roadrunners.  “I’d like to thank all of my teammates throughout the years at Roadrunners. Although a couple have come and gone over the years, the main core of us have remained intact. We’ve been all over the country and have truly pushed each other to become better players. The relationships I’ve developed with my teammates at Roadrunners are stronger than in any other club I’ve been a part of. From winning the NPL together to the hotel shenanigans in out-of-state events, I truly can’t thank them enough for making my experience so great.”

We are super excited for Erik, we will be following his career at Loyola very closely and can not wait to see him play.  He is an exceptional person and has maintained  a GPA over 4.0 throughout high school.  We are so proud of Erik”s D1 commitment to Loyola.

- Roadrunners Soccer Club