MARQUETTE – The inaugural men’s soccer team at Northern Michigan University has gained three more recruits, head coach David Poggi announced Thursday.

The three are Ivar Arnason of Akureyri, Iceland, Leighton Lommel of Waite Park, Minnesota, and Sam Popp of downstate Northville.

“Each brings something special to our first recruiting class,” Poggi said. “They will be exciting players to watch in the fall.”

The additions bring the roster to 23 players. The team now includes student-athletes from four countries: the U.S., Germany, Iceland and Slovenia. Six states are represented – Michigan and Wisconsin with five players each, Illinois with four, Minnesota with three, Colorado with two and Montana with one.

Poggi said he plans to add about five more players to the roster before the Wildcats open their season Sept. 4 at Missouri-St. Louis.

Arnason is a 6-foot defender who led his club team, Knattspyrnufelag Akureyrar, to a third-place finish in its division during the regular season.

Lommel played on Apollo High School’s team since eighth grade and served as captain his junior and senior years.

In 2014, he led the Eagles to a 21-0-2 season and a Class A Minnesota state championship. A 5-11 midfielder and defender, Lommel earned all-state first team and all-conference honors in 2015.

He was named Apollo’s midfield MVP his final three seasons.

Popp is set to join the Wildcats after leading Louisburg College in North Carolina to the 2015 Division I championship in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

As a freshman, the 5-7 midfielder recorded the fourth-best total on his team of 21 points, with five goals and 11 assists, as the Hurricanes achieved a No. 1 national ranking and 24-1 record.

Popp comes from a family rich in NMU athletics history. His father, Rick, quarterbacked the 1987 football team that won the GLIAC crown with an undefeated record and reached the national semifinals.

His mother, Sue, captained the basketball team that went 24-4 and qualified for the 1989 national tournament.

In 1960, his grandfather, Bill, “Sugar” Popp helped the Northern football team make the NAIA national playoffs.

Information compiled by Senior Sports Writer Craig Remsburg. He can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251, or via email at cremsburg@miningjournal.net.