Professional soccer: Leviathan adds two local players to roster

Dakota Jonke and Carter Hancock represent the type of players the Lorain County Leviathan is hoping to fill its roster with as it prepares for its inaugural USL League Two season. The signings of Jonke and Hancock, which were announced Tuesday, bring the Leviathan a pair of players with local roots, game-changing ability on the college level and previous USL2 experience. Hancock, who was a second-team All-Ohio selection at Amherst in 2019 during his his senior year, comes to the Leviathan after earning Division III All-American honors at Mount Union in 2024. "Pretty much the second I heard about the Lorain County team becoming a thing I had interest right away, he said. "I reached out to the ownership. I had some previous networking with them because I was interested in playing in the summer so close to home." A veteran of the Cleveland Force and Akron City, Hancock, who also plays for the Cleveland Crunch of the Major League Indoor Soccer, is hoping to bring his experience to Lorain County's expansion roster. "Hopefully, I want to be able to bring a lot of leadership to the team, having graduated from college and having experience in USL2," Hancock said. "I know some teams can lack leadership and good culture. As one of the older guys on the team, I think I can bring leadership." Playing high-level soccer so close to home was something Hancock didn't think possible while growing up playing at Amherst. "Never did I think when I would drive by the Crushers' stadium that I would ever have the chance to play there for a USL2 team," Hancock said. Jonke, an Avon native, played soccer and football at St. Edward High School, where he was a member of the Eagles' 2021 state championship football team. Jonke played collegially at Cornell and most recently Duquesne, where he had six goals and four assists in 31 games. He will spend his final year of college eligibility this fall at Syracuse. "I will probably be one of the older guys on the team, so it will be nice to share my experience with the local kids," said Jonke, who previously played in USL2 with Kings Hammer, based out of Cincinnati. "The biggest difference is I get to play in my hometown. It's a best case scenario." In addition to the opportunity to play in front of local fans, Jonke is hoping to make the 2026 season a memorable one. "I want to enjoy the game of soccer, get fit and score a lot of goals," he said. Lorain County coach Blake New is happy to add a pair of veteran goalscorers to the roster. "You can't have too many goals in a game," New said. "We're adding scoring in bunches. Carter has shown everywhere he's played that he knows how to finish, and Dakota brings creativity and composure that makes everyone around him more dangerous. This is exactly the type of firepower we want." The Leviathan will open the season in May in the Great Forest Division. Lorain County will play all of its home matches at ForeFront Field. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.