The Hofstra Men's Soccer team, winners of back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association championships, signed six players during the February signing period, it was announced today by Head Coach Richard Nuttall.
The six players include incoming freshmen Andrew Hinkson (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), Evan Jaep (Sicklerville, NJ/St. Augustine Prep), Richard Martinez (Highland, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes), Jamal Neptune (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown) and James Winters (Austin, TX/Bowie), as well as transfer Justin Flood (Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge/Boston College).
Hinkson comes to Hofstra from Harborfields High School on Long Island, where he was a three-sport letterman in soccer, track & field, and lacrosse. This past season Andrew was named to the All-conference team and to the Exceptional Senior Team. Andrew was also a member of the LIJSL Olympic Development Program (ODP) and competed for the Ronkonkoma Crew club team.
"Andrew is a phenomenal athlete who will be able to add an attacking element to our wide positions or up front," said Nuttall. "We expect that he will adapt to our style quickly and be an asset to our program right from the start."
Jaep was a Super Y-League Regional ODP player in 2004 and 2005, as well as a member of the New Jersey ODP team for 2002 and 2005. An excellent student, he helped to lead St. Augustine Prep to a four year record of 79-7-5 and two Parochial A State Championships (2003, 2005) during his career. In his senior year, he was named to the second team All-State for his efforts, as well as first team All-South Jersey and first team All-Parochial.
"Evan has been an exceptional defender at the state level and has a great soccer brain to go with his abilities," said Nuttall. "We are very pleased to be adding a left-sided player who has the ability to play right away for our squad."
Martinez was a member of the Eastern New York ODP team from 2002-2005 and a captain of his FC Westchester club team. FC Westchester won the New York State Cup in 2002, and he was a member of the 2003 and 2004 Super Y-league ODP Regional Team. Martinez attended Our Lady of Lourdes High School, where he was a four-year All-Section All-Star, All-Conference, and All-League starter. He finished with 42 goals and 66 assists during his high school career.
"We feel that Richard will be able to compete for time either in the back or in the midfield," said Nuttall. "We are excited to add such a versatile, athletic, and smart player to our team for next year. He is another wonderful addition to the squad."
Neptune was recently named to the Super Y-League National Select Team for 2006. In addition he participated in the 2005 adidas Elite Soccer Program and was on the New Jersey ODP Team for 2004. Jamal was named first team All-County for 2004 and 2005 at Hightstown High School, and named to the second team All-State for those same years.
"Jamal is another extremely aggressive, athletic defender who has the ability to get involved into the attack quickly," said Nuttall. " We are very pleased that Jamal has chosen Hofstra and believe that he has the ability to be a starter here immediately."
Winters is the captain of the highly successful 88 Lonestar Soccer Club team in Austin, Texas. He has been the goalkeeper for four South Texas state championship teams, and was named to the South Texas ODP Pool three times. He is the starting goalkeeper for Bowie High School with a current record of 13-1-1 and a goals against average of 0.34. Bowie High School won district and bi-district titles in 2005. James is also excellent student, earning Academic All-District honors in 2005 and the Bowie High School Academic Trustees Award in 2003 and 2004.
"James excited our staff during the recruiting process," said Nuttall. "His background of leading teams to state titles is impressive, and having a great goalkeeper is crucial to success at the college level. We feel that James has the physical tools, strong mental abilities, and the desire to be successful throughout his four years."
Flood, the younger brother of Pride captain Gary Flood, transferred from Boston College and is currently enrolled full time at Hofstra. As a senior at Hauppauge High School, Flood earned NSCAA All-America and NSCAA All-State honors. He was also the 2004 Suffolk County Player of the Year. He completed his scholastic career as Hauppauge's all-time leading scorer, tallying 130 points (47 goals, 36 assists). He participated in the 2003 and 2004 adidas Elite Soccer Program, was a member of the Eastern New York State Team from 1999-2004, and competed on the U.S. Youth Soccer Region I (1987) Team from 2002-2005. While a freshman at Boston College last fall, Justin saw time in ten games, starting two.
"We are extremely excited to have Justin on board," said Nuttall. "He's dynamic, skillful, and perceptive on the field as an attacking midfielder. Having him on campus this spring will help him to acclimate to our team, and we hope for great things from him."
The Pride is coming off a 14-5-3 season, which saw it win the Colonial Athletic Association championship with a 1-0 win over Old Dominion and qualify for the NCAA Division I Tournament for the second year in a row. Hofstra also achieved a #13 ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, its highest ranking in school history. Hofstra will return seven starters as it tries to win its third straight title next fall.
"Overall we are extremely excited to be adding such a high-quality recrutiing class," said Nuttall. "We feel that with these recruits and our returning players, that we will have the potential to continue competing at a high level. This is one of the deepest classes in my seventeen years here, and there is tremendous potential for them during their careers."
