Soccer adds three newcomers

Bob Novak, who played 34 matches for Notre Dame, will be eligible to start the season. Photo: Matt Cashore

Newcomers to the men’s soccer team next year will include Notre Dame transfers Danny O’Leary and Bob Novak, and Alex Simon of St. Ignatius College Prep.

All three are Chicago-area natives.

O’Leary and Novak, who earned their bachelor’s degrees from Notre Dame in May, will be graduate students at UIC, immediately eligible to suit up for the Flames for the 2013 season.

O’Leary attended Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville. He saw action in 50 games at Notre Dame over the last three years, collecting 12 career points, including five goals.

Novak, who prepped at Lockport Township High School, played in 34 matches for the Fighting Irish over the past three seasons, including nine starting assignments in 2012.

Simon, a four-year letter-winner at St. Ignatius College Prep, joins four other newcomers who starred for the nationally prominent club Raiders FC.

O’Leary, Novak and Simon join a 2013 recruiting class that includes Kyle Hamann (Lemont/Lemont), Joel Leon (Cicero/Morton East), Gabriel Martinez Jr. (Chicago/George Washington), Andrew Putna (Lemont/Lemont) and Gonzalo Romo (Hammond/Bishop Noll).