Feb. 23, 2006
A SIX-PACK
Hofstra men add 5 freshmen, 1 junior

The Hofstra men, winners of consecutive Colonial Athletic Association championships, signed six players during the February signing period, it was announced on Wednesday by coach Richard Nuttall.

The six players include incoming freshmen Andrew Hinkson (Huntington, L.I./Harborfields), Evan Jaep (Sicklerville, N.J./St. Augustine Prep), Richard Martinez (Highland, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes), Jamal Neptune (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) and James Winters (Austin, Texas/Bowie), as well as transfer Justin Flood (Hauppauge, L.I./Hauppauge/Boston College).

"Overall we are extremely excited to be adding such a high-quality recrutiing class," Nuttall said. "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 17 years here, and there is tremendous potential for them during their careers."

Hinkson comes to Hofstra from Harborfields High School on Long Island, where he was a three-sport letterman in soccer, track & field and lacrosse. He also was named to the All-conference team and to the Exceptional Seniors team. Hinkson was also a member of the LIJSL Olympic Development Program 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," Nuttall said. "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, Jaep helped to lead St. Augustine Prep to a 79-7-5 record over foru years and two Parochial A State Championships (2003, 2005). 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," Nuttall said. "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 Youth Soccer Association ODP team from 2002-2005 and a captain of his FC Westchester club team. FC Westchester won the ENYYSA State Cup in 2002, and he was a member of the 2003 and 2004 Super Y-league ODP Regional Team. He 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 his high school career with 42 goals and 66 assists.

"We feel that Richard will be able to compete for time either in the back or in the midfield," Nuttall said. "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. He also participated in the 2005 adidas Elite Soccer Program and was on the New Jersey ODP team for 2004. Neptune 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," Nuttall said. "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 Lonestar Soccer Club in Austin, Texas. He was 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 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," Nuttall said. "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 has enrolled fulltime 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 ODP 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 10 games, starting twice.

"We are extremely exicted to have Justin on board," Nuttall said. "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 14-4-3 season, in which it won the CAA championship with a 1-0 victory over Old Dominion and qualify for the NCAA Division I tournament for the second year in a row. Hofstra also achieved a No. 13 ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, its highest ranking in school history.

Hofstra will return seven starters as it tries to win its third straight conference title this fall.