Hoosiers get 2 commitments for 2006

As the parents' second born, he could have moved to their native country of Ghana and become a prince in the family's Ashanti tribe. \nBut Ofori Sarkodie will be joining another tribe as he is one of two recruits that recently committed to be a part of IU men's soccer 2006 recruiting class. \nTeaming up with Sarkodie as a Hoosier and a member of the U.S. under-17 team is Kevin Alston.\nSarkodie, who has never been to Ghana, was born in Illinois and raised in Huber Heights, Ohio, for most of his life. The 5-foot-9-inch 170 pound defender is the captain of the U-17 team and completed high school in three years as he graduated from Edison Academic Center in Florida last month.\nHe also considered attending Wake Forest, North Carolina, South Florida and St. John's. Sarkodie said he hopes to sign his national letter of intent in mid-July because he begins a camp with the U-17 team June 17 in Carson, Calif.\n"I'm hoping to bring a leadership role to the team with my experience playing for the national team," Sarkodie said. "IU puts a lot of players into (Major League Soccer), but for me coming in already with an international background gives me somewhat of an edge."\nAlston -- a 5-foot-7-inch 125 pound midfielder -- made his official visit to IU during his Easter Break in mid-March. After visiting North Carolina in May, he made a verbal commitment to IU. Alston signed his letter of intent Thursday, he said, which IU is waiting to receive. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from commenting on recruits until the athlete's letter is finalized.\nThe Silver Springs, Md., native stayed with junior defender Julian Dieterle during his visit to Bloomington and said he felt the best at IU with the players and coaches over the other two schools he considered - Wake Forest and North Carolina.\n"I like how IU is a big school," Alston said. "I felt like it had the most to offer to me. They had the best team and it provides me the best potential coming in so I thought I could be really successful in the next four to five years."\nBoth players live year round with the U-17 team in Brandenton, Fla., at the IMG Academy. Those players in the U.S. Soccer Federation's residency program attend Edison Academic Center - a private school near the IMG Academy.\nCurrent Hoosier junior Jacob Peterson trained with the U-17 team from 2001 to 2003 in Florida before coming to Bloomington. Peterson is currently playing with the under-20 national team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Enschede, Holland.\nAlston and Sarkodie - 2005 Parade Soccer All-Americans - will enroll at IU in January 2006 with Alston finishing high school in December while at the same time competing in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, which will take place in Peru from September 16 to October 2.\n"I can't even describe to you what it's like to focus on soccer exclusively for six months," Sarkodie said. "Going through qualifying, you can't replace that feeling so we hope to repeat that feeling heading into the world championships."\nThe U.S. U-17 team earned an automatic berth April 16 to the World Championship with a 2-1 win over Costa Rica.\nAlston said he and Sarkodie have become great friends and he spends about 90 percent of his free time hanging out in Sarkodie's dorm room.\n"Me and Kevin are great buds," Sarkodie said. "We established a close relationship playing in the backfield together and I think that will really help when we head to IU together"