NEWARK, NJ—NJIT men's soccer coach Didier Orellana announced a group of nine incoming players set to become Highlanders for the 2015 season.
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The incoming athletes are (listed alphabetically):
 
--Sam Foster (goalkeeper;  Magnolia, TX/IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
--Ricardo Garcia (centerback; Stroudsburg, PA/Pocono Mountain East (Swiftwater, PA)
--Samuel Jester (forward; Middletown, DE/ Appoquinimink)
--Furkan Kokcu (midfielder; Wellington, New Zealand/Te Kura Correspondence)
--Ryan Moore (midfielder; Middletown, DE/Appoquinimink)
--Antonio Nigro (midfielder/defender; Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens)
--Patrick Nuss (midfielder; Fort Worth, TX/Fossil Ridge (Keller, TX)
--Rickardo Oldham (midfielder; Kingston, Jamaica/Camperdown /Northern Oklahoma College- Tonkawa)
--Narayan Taterway (midfielder; Leesburg, VA/Flint Hill/NOVA Community College)
 
The incoming group includes a goalkeeper and nine field players. It is a diverse geographic group, with two in-state players, a pair of teammates from Delaware, two Texas natives, another from Virginia and Pennsylvania and two international students, one from New Zealand and another from Jamaica.
 
The new Highlanders join a program that completed the 2014 season with an overall record of 7-8-4, including 2-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Highlanders were 6-0-3 in 2014 home games, highlighted by a 1-0 win over #22 Navy at home on September 20, which keyed a strong start that kept the Highlanders in a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Southeast Regional Top 10 every week from September 30 through mid-November. NJIT's high point in the regional poll was a #7 spot on October 14.
 
Men's Soccer, which joined the Sun Belt Conference as an affiliate member in 2014, will transition to the Atlantic Sun Conference in the fall of 2016.  The A-Sun announced that NJIT became the eighth full member institution of the multisport conference effective July 1, 2015.
 
Here is a closer look at the 2015 incoming players Orellana announced:
 
SAM FOSTER
A goalkeeper, Foster joins the Highlanders from the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Originally from Texas, he moved to Bradenton to compete on the IMG Academy team, where he was first-team all-county, first-team all-district, top goalkeeper in the district and IMG's Goalkeeper of the Year.
Sam plans to major in civil engineering.
 
Coach Orellana on Foster: "We are very excited to bring in a player who has already competed at such a high level. His experience with IMG Academy should make for a smooth transition to the college game. He has the perfect combination that you look for in a goalkeeper: size, strength and awareness. We look forward to seeing how Sam can contribute to our run for the Sun Belt Conference championship."
 
RICARDO GARCIA
A four-year starter at Pocono Mountain East High School in Pennsylvania, Garica was selected to the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference first-team.  He played for club Super-Y soccer.
 
Garcia intends to major in biomedical engineering.
 
Coach Orellana of Garcia: "Ricardo brings a wealth of leadership qualities and the work ethic that we are looking for here in our program. His mentality and tireless work habits will be contagious amongst his peers both on and off the field.   Ricardo has the ability to be a tremendous Defender at this level and will compete right away for a starting role."
 


SAMUEL JESTER
Jester, a graduate of Appoquinimink High School in Middletown, DE, earlier was named as Delaware's top male player for the 2014 season, earning the coveted Gatorade Player of the Year for the state by USA TODAY.
 
He was also named Delaware Player of the Year for 2014 by the state's largest newspaper, The News Journal of Wilmington.
 
Further, Jester was one of 30 nationwide named as a midfielder All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA); the 5-foot-10 standout, scored 21 goals and recorded 10 assists as a senior and was selected to play in the High School All-American game in North Carolina.
He led his team to the state Flight A Championship and a 15-0 regular season record before falling to eventual champion Salesianum in the Division I state semifinals.  Appoquinimink finished the 2014 season with a 16-1 mark.
 
For his career, Jester had 75 goals and 43 assists and was a two-time Flight A Blue-Hen Conference Player of the Year.
 
Jester, who intends to major in business at NJIT, earned D1AA Scholar-Athlete award recognition and was honored on the Blue- en Academic All-Conference High Honor Roll.
 
Coach Orellana on Jester: "We are very excited to bring a player of Sam's caliber to NJIT, with his recent Gatorade Player of the Year and All-American honors. Sam's pedigree for success should translate to big things for the Highlanders. His technical skills and finishing ability should be big factors for us as we compete toward the Sun Belt conference championship."
 FURKAN KOKCU
Kokcu joins the Highlanders all the way from FC Nelson New Zealand soccer club.
 
He played for the undefeated  U19 club team, Olympic FC, which  advanced to the semifinals of the national championships. In 2012, Furkan was a named Te Kura Correspondence High School Player of the Year.
 
Furkan plans to major in business management.
 
Coach Orellana on Kokcu: "Furkan joins us from a prestigious club team in New Zealand. His experience at the highest level, along with the important matches he has already been a part of, should help him step in right away and be an impact player for us. His combination of great feet, vision, field awareness, and the desire to get involved in the attack should make him a big contributor in 2015 and beyond."
 
RYAN MOORE
A midfielder from Appoquinimink High School in Middletown, DE, Moore joins NJIT and teammate Samuel Jester after they guided their team to the state Flight A Championship and a 15-0 regular season record before falling to eventual champion Salesianum in the Division I state semifinals.  Appoquinimink finished the 2014 season with a 16-1 mark.
 
Moore was one of 30 nationwide named as a midfielder All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).  He was also named to the first-team all-state and all-conference.
 
He played for the Kirkwood Soccer Academy, the #1-ranked club team in Delaware.
 
Moore plans to major in business.
 
Coach Orellana on Moore: "Ryan will be a valuable asset right from the get-go. His combination of size (6'2), game awareness, high soccer IQ and an ability to play multiple positions will have him competing for a position with us immediately.  Ryan is a natural leader and former captain of both his #1-ranked high school and club team in the state."
 ANTONIO NIGRO
A 6-foot-2 midfielder from Edison, NJ, Nigro comes to NJIT from JP Stevens High School.
 
For his career, Nigro had 22 goals and 25 assists and was a first-team Greater Middlesex all-division, all-conference and Home News Tribune all-area honoree.
 
He played club soccer for the Metuchen Rover Juniors.
 
Nigro plans to major in chemical engineering.
 
Coach Orellana on Nigro: "Antonio will bring a competitive spirit, a strong left foot, size and strength to our program. He will be an asset in aerial battles and will look to challenge for minutes. Antonio should  be a leader on and off the pitch. He is a student of the game and we look forward to watching his development in the years to come."
 
 
PATRICK NUSS
A four-year starter at Fossil Ridge High School in Texas, Nuss was selected for District 5-6 A MVP (in Texas), first-team all-state and academic all-state team honors.  He played for club Tejanos Independiente.
 
Nuss intends to major in biomedical engineering.
 
Coach Orellana on Nuss: "Patrick will bring a great skill set to our team: size, strength, tenacity, a high soccer IQ and a passion for winning. He will look to battle for minutes in the center of midfield right away and by season's end should be a valuable contributor in our pursuit of a Sun Belt Conference championship. "
 
RICKARDO OLDHAM
Oldham, a transfer from Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa, joins the Highlanders after representing Jamaica on the u23 national team in the CFU Olympic qualifiers tournament.
 
He played two seasons for Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa, guiding the Mavericks to their 16^th Region II National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championship and clinching the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference title. Oldham was recognized as the Region II NJCAA Tournament MVP (2014) and team MVP (2013 and 2014).
 
Oldham played club for the Ocean City Nor'Easters.
He intends to major in Law, Technology and Culture at NJIT..
 
Coach Orellana on Oldham "We're very happy someone of Rickardo's caliber will be joining our program this fall. We expect him to contribute right away" NARAYAN TATERWAY
Taterway joins the Highlanders after a successful stint at Flint Hill High School in Virginia and club teams Sterling FC Elite and Reston FC Elite. 
 
Taterway was named club captain of Reston FC, the #1 ranked team in the nation.
 
A three-year starter at Flint Hill, Taterway scored 13 goals and recorded 22 assists. He earned first-team all-conference and all-Met (DC)  team honors.
 
Narayan plans to major in business.
 
Coach Orellana on Taterway: "We see Narayan as a player who can step right in and make a difference and can also develop into a great team leader. It says a lot about him that he was captain of one of the best club teams in the country."