Wildebeest history: St. Francis inks Lewis

On Feb. 6, Lewis, a Columbia resident, committed to play soccer at St. Francis (Pa.) University beginning next fall on an athletic scholarship.

‘‘I think it’s an honor for Aaron and the program, having a player of his caliber; being afforded the opportunity to attend a Division I school is certainly special,” said Wildebeest head coach Eduardo Polon. ‘‘He’s a man-child in many ways, remarkably fit and has tremendous focus. Aaron is cut from that special cloth, and certainly there was plenty of indication that this day would come.”

Polon is referring to Lewis’ many accomplishments on the field not only at Sandy Spring Friends, but regionally and worldwide. Aside from starting for the ’Beest since his freshman year, Lewis started on the U-18 Bethesda Mavericks, a Region I Premier League club team that has won multiple state and regional titles. Even more significantly, Lewis was one of only two high school players invited last summer to play with the U.S. Virgin Islands Under-23 National Team in a 2008 Olympic qualifying match.

His father, Warren, is a Virgin Islands native, which made Lewis eligible for selection for a match against the Bahamas. Lewis didn’t disappoint, playing all 90 minutes as a central midfielder.

Lewis began receiving attention from college recruiters at the beginning of his junior year. In fact, St. Francis was the first school to show interest in him.

‘‘At the beginning of my junior year, their coach, Mike Casper, saw me at the Bethesda Thanksgiving Tournament, and at that point wasn’t really allowed to say anything,” Lewis said. ‘‘I spoke to a number of coaches from Old Dominion, Georgetown and some other programs, but [Casper] helped me a lot. He would speak in generalities, not just informing me about St. Francis but the whole recruiting process in general, so I liked that. ...

‘‘I’m definitely excited, trying to be able to play the game at the highest level.”