New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics

Christian Galindo, who helped NJIT to its most successful Division I soccer season in 2012, is continuing in the sport as a professional, where he will play in Guatemala's first division.

His professional team is C.D. Suchitepequez, which is one of 12 teams in the top tier of Guatemala soccer, Liga Nacional de Futbol de Guatemala, which begins play on August 3.

A May graduate of NJIT with a degree in Science, Technology and Society, Galindo became a Highlander in the summer of 2011 after attending Stony Brook for two years. He would be coached all four years in college by Cesar Markovic, who recruited Galindo to Stony Brook in 2009 and later became NJIT's coach in 2011.

In 2012, with Galindo starting all 19 games in his senior year, NJIT won 10 games, doubling the previous highest total since the program began Division I play in 2005. With Galindo on the defense, NJIT allowed 28 goals in 19 games, compared to 38 in 18 games the season before he arrived in Newark. Galindo, who had exactly three goals and two assists in each of his seasons as a Highlander, collected two of his 2012 goals on penalty kicks in two tries from the spot.

In 2011, Galindo's first year at NJIT, the program won five games matching the program high-water mark that would be shattered a year later. Galindo started 18 games (missed one of the team's 19 contests) and tied for the team scoring lead with 8 points (3 goals, 2 assists), while also aiding an improved defense.