RAPID CITY - Eric Moller, Aaron Foss and Jeremy Maier did some pretty special things on the soccer pitch for the Rapid City Stevens boys soccer team. The three Raiders are hoping to do the same thing for Dakota Wesleyan University.

The three seniors signed their letters of intent with the Tigers on Friday afternoon and will be looking for the same kind of success that led them to a runner-up finish in the Class AA boys state meet last fall.

All three players said the educational opportunities at DWU were just as strong a pull to the school as the soccer program. Maier is planning to major in wildlife management, Moller will study criminal law and Foss is interested in athletic training.

However, all three have a good chance of seeing the field as freshmen.

"We are excited about these signings and we are hoping to get a lot of defense out of these guys," said Dakota Wesleyan head coach Jeremy Tosaya, who has been in the position for just two months. "We only have eight returning field players this next year so continuity is going to be a problem for us. So I like having these guys because they have played club together and high school together."

Maier said he is anxious to get back to playing soccer.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I could play a lot," he said.

While the three players did not always intend to go to the same college, they are not going to be disappointed to see some familiar faces on the field.

"It was one of the factors," Foss said. "The pressure of playing with new players is still going to be there, but it is not going to be as much and it will be a lot easier to play the game."

Moller was a first-team all-state defender and the unanimous choice as the Raiders' MVP. Foss was a second-team all-state selection and a team captain, while Maier was an honorable mention all-state selection.

Rapid City Stevens head coach Randy McKee believes the signing of three of his players is another positive step in the right direction for his program.

"We have a dozen or so former Stevens boys alumni playing around the Midwest at successful programs and these three will add a lot of quality to the DWU program," he said.

Tosaya hopes this is the first of many trips to the Black Hills area to sign what he considers to be some of the best players in the state.

"This is a nice first step for us to bring in these guys from Stevens because this is one of the best programs in the state," Tosaya said. "We are looking to build our program with South Dakota kids."