DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University men's soccer head coach Ryan Swan announced the addition of six student-athletes for the 2025 season. The Huskies have added Noah Christian (Rockford, Mich.), Tobias Crear (Carrollton, Texas), Amara Kamara (Montserrado, Liberia), Niko Ladas (Naperville, Ill.), Braxton Montgomery (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Vance Sheffield (West Linn, Ore.) for the upcoming fall season. 

Christian played high school soccer at Rockford (Mich.) High School in 2022 and 2023, helping the Rams to a state runner-up finish in 2022 and a third-place finish in 2023. He scored nine goals with six assists in those two seasons, earning honorable mention all-conference honors in 2023. Christian has played club soccer with Midwest United since 2023, including currently with their MLS Next U19 team. 

"Noah is a dynamic 1-v-1 attacking player and is excellent on the pressing side of the game," said Swan. "He was a standout performer in all of the games we watched him in and he has the drive to continue to improve. It was no surprise to our staff when Noah was called up to the ODP national team this spring and we look forward to him bringing this drive to our squad."

Crear plays for the Dallas Texans in the ECNL. In 2023-24 he was named a U17 ECNL All-American and a United Soccer Coaches 2023 Member Club/Youth Boys All-American. He was also the 2022-23 ECNL U16 Texas Conference Player of the Year. Crear has also played high school soccer at Creekview High School.  

"Tobias is a very exciting player," said Swan. "He can play on either wing and is outstanding when isolated against a defender. I believe Huskie fans will really enjoy watching Tobias run with the ball and I have no doubt he will have an outstanding collegiate career with us here in DeKalb."

Kamara joins the Huskies following two seasons at Tiffin University, where he helped lead the Dragons to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2023 and the third round in 2024. Kamara is a two-time Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-American, earning third team honors in both 2023 and 2024, as is also the two-time Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Defensive Player of the year. 

"Amara joins us after an outstanding couple of years with Tiffin University," said Swan. "He is excellent in the air, tough in the tackle and comfortable in buildup play. I am confident he will immediately strengthen our defensive unit and will offer and aerial threat on set pieces. Amara checks a lot of our needs on both sides of the ball."

Ladas played high school soccer at perennial state powerhouse Naperville North. In 2023, Ladas scored five goals with five assists, helping the Huskies to a 23-2-3 record and a third-place state finish. This past fall, Ladas had five goals and four assists as Naperville North went 20-2-1. Ladas plays his club soccer with Galaxy SC.

"Niko is an exceptional competitor and has enjoyed great success with Naperville North High School and Galaxy Soccer Club," said Swan. "He is comfortable playing in a number of positions and already has the physical attributes to transition well into the college game."

Montgomery plays for Phoenix Rising FC, where he has been a member of the youth academy since the age of 12. Montgomery, the former captain of the Phoenix Rising U17 MLS Next team, signed an academy contract in June of 2024 and, playing on that amateur contract, made his first team debut in the USL Championship for Phoenix Rising in the 2025 season opener earlier this month. He is the first Phoenix Rising academy contract player to see action with the first team since 2023. 

"Braxton is a very technical central midfielder who covers a lot of ground and has great composure on the ball," said Swan. "Our staff was impressed with his performances every time we watched him and his experiences with Phoenix Rising have prepared him well for the demands at the college level. Braxton has the potential to be an outstanding player for us over the next four years."

Sheffield had a highly decorated four-year high school career at La Salle Catholic College Prep, where he became the third player in Oregon State history to tally 100 career goals, finishing with 101. A two-time Oregon 5A State Player of the Year (2023, '24), Sheffield was also named one of the top-25 high school players in the nation in the fall of 2023 and fall of 2024 by Sports Illustrated. Sheffield was the 2024 Oregonian/Oregon Live Player of the Year and a 2024 United Soccer Coaches All-American. 

"Vance has an outstanding goalscoring record and is capable of scoring lots of different goals," said Swan. "He is explosive and is excellent in the air. Vance's athleticism makes him a nightmare for defenders to deal with and I am confident he will complement our attacking play with his goals and work rate."

The six signees announced today join the trio of Dasha Curiel (Rockford, Ill.), Roman Khela (Huddersfield, England) and Tomasz Slawek (Crystal Lake, Ill.) who joined the Huskies in January. 

"Overall, I am very happy with our recruiting class," said Swan. "Coach (Nick) Roman and Coach (Ryan) Blair did a great job of identifying players who addressed our immediate and long-term needs. I am confident this class will help us compete at the top end of our conference in 2025 and beyond. We're not quite finished yet and I hope to announce a few more new Huskies soon."

NIU will begin its spring schedule this Sunday (March 30) against Roosevelt at 2 p.m. The Huskies will also host Western Illinois (April 12, 3 p.m.) and Lewis (April 26, 3 p.m.) this spring while facing Marquette in Rockford (April 5, 1 p.m.) and traveling to Northwestern (April 19, 5 p.m.).