Sun staff
Goshen High School senior Jiles Munafo signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina on Thursday, Nov. 13 during an event held at the school with family, coaches and friends.
“I looked into the school because my grandpa graduated from there,” Munafo said. “I filled out their (recruit questionnaire) and a couple of days later the coach called me and said my name had come across his desk as one of the best (lacrosse players) in the state of Ohio.
“I went down and visited and loved it down there; I just could see myself there.”
Munafo chose the Crusaders over a host of other schools including Saint Leo University, the University of Tampa and a few service academies. The senior was in high demand after a junior season that saw him lead his club team to the state semifinals, earning him First Team All-State and First Team All-South Region honors.
Playing for the Anderson Lacrosse Club in 2014, Munafo scored 56 goals to go along with six assists from his attacker position. With the Redskins moving to a school-sanctioned varsity sport this coming season, Munafo will play for the Lebanon Lacrosse Club this spring.
The move for Munafo will be his third in as many years, but inking his commitment to NGU brought a welcomed sense of stability that he hasn’t had the chance to enjoy with moves from Milford to Anderson and now to Lebanon.
“It’s really nice that I’ll be somewhere for four years instead of like high school where I was on three teams in four years,” he said. “That was a little rough. (NGU) is a new program, so it’s still building, but it should have a good foundation.”
As a part of that foundation, Munafo said he hopes to have an impact as soon as he makes his way onto campus in late 2015.
“I’m hoping to have a great impact on the team and I’m hoping to start,” Munafo said. “The coach said I was one of the only recruits who actually got to see them play — we went down to Tennessee to watch them play — and knowing the ability I have, I think I could start next year if I put in my time, effort and dedication.”
The Crusaders will play their first official season beginning in 2015 under former Seton Hill goalkeeper, Corey Struss. Between Struss’ knowledge and passion for the game as well as the team he has assembled, Munafo is looking forward to getting on campus full time in 2015.
“(Struss) played lacrosse in college. He knows what he’s talking about and he’s a really nice guy,” Munafo said. “The guys are all different; they’re all characters, but I like them a lot. When I visited, I felt like I fit in and they made me feel exactly how I wanted to feel.”
As for his schooling, Munafo plans to study criminal justice in order to work for a government agency, such as the FBI.
For more information on NGU lacrosse, log on to the school’s athletic website at NGUCrusaders.com.