By Ryan Makuch
AFC Ann Arbor are pleased to welcome Tomas Casas into the club ahead of the 2022 USL League Two campaign. Casas joins the squad having just completed an impressive freshman season at Lubbock Christian.
The Argentine defender made a splash in his first season with Lubbock Christian; a campaign in which he earned Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year honors.
Casas notched his first collegiate goal as a freshman and doled out three assists over the course of the season. Additionally, Casas was the iron man of his Chaps side as he played in 1,588 minutes over the course of the season and was the only man in his side to start in and play in all 18 matches of the season.
Over the course of the season, Casas cemented himself further and further as a consistent presence along the backline of a Lubbock Christian team that got better and better as the season went on. Casas was squarely at the heart of that, playing four consecutive 90-minute matches during a 4-0-0 stretch for the Chaps.
Casas would miss just three minutes of postseason play, where the Chaps made it all the way to the Lone Star Conference Tournament Final, where they fell in a shootout to #8 ranked Midwestern State University Texas. The Chaps would not concede a goal during their postseason, outsourcing their opposition 9-0 in the three-game tournament.
Casas’s Lubbock Christian side toppled three nationally-ranked teams over the course of the season and advanced to the first conference tournament under Paul Gilbert, who ultimately decided to step down after the season following a career-best season with the Chaps and leaving with the most wins in the history of the LCU men’s soccer program.
Gilbert was the man who directed Casas in the direction of AFCAA, saying, “As soon as I told my former coach at LCU [Gilbert] that I wanted to play on a summer team, he recommended to me AFC Ann Arbor. He told me that they are a very prestigious team that takes very good of their players on and off the field.”
“Tomas is versatile positionally and fits our brand of technical, possession-based football. His mentality & work rate will also blend well with our culture and desire to win,” said Eric Rudland, Sporting Director of the club and the point man on bringing Casas to the club. And, indeed when talking to Casas about his style of play, it’s clear that he’s a strong fit for the club.
Casas would say, “I will say that I’m very dynamic and will always look to be involved in the game, I will try to play simple and always play for my teammates.” The versatility combined with the ability of Casas makes him an excellent option for new Men’s Head Coach Rod Asllani across the backline, and even potentially into the midfield.
“I think that after playing this summer season, I will be a better player due to the experience that USL2 is going to give me,” said Casas on what he hopes to achieve and accomplish in 2022. He would continue: “I hope to compete at a great level, as I’m sure it will be, and to learn everything that I can from my coaches and teammates.”
We, once again, welcome Tomas Casas to the AFCAA Family and we look forward to greeting him and the rest of the men’s and women’s squads this summer.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014 and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!