NEWARK, NJ—Men's soccer coach Pedro Lopes announced that five student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at NJIT beginning in the fall of 2010.
Of the five, two are from the ranks of 2010 high school graduates and three are international students, two of whom are transferring from other American colleges. The third international student, Nils Warfving, is the younger brother of four-year Highlander Gustav Warfving (NJIT Class of 2010).
The signees are (listed alphabetically):
Kwesi Alleyne, a defender who resides in Miramar, FL, and will graduate from University School in Davie, FL.
Christoph Kaesler, a center back/defensive midfielder from Reinshagen, Germany. He is a transfer from Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, MO. Kaesler will be a sophomore at NJIT after playing one season for the NAIA program at Hannibal-LaGrange.
Emeka Nwachukwu, a wing forward born in London, England, and residing in Springfield Gardens, NY. He is a transfer from Queensborough Community College. He will begin playing at NJIT with sophomore eligibility.
John Ricketti, a goalkeeper who resides in Hamilton, NJ, and will graduate from the Pennington School in Pennington, NJ.
Nils Warfving, a defensive midfielder from Angelholm, Sweden.
Kwesi Alleyne, a left-footer defender, continues a solid connection for NJIT from Florida, where he was named in March (scholastic soccer is a winter sport in his area) to the 2009-10 all-Broward County first team as a defender by the Sun Sentinel. He scored five goals and added six assists.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, with family roots in Trinidad, West Indies, the 6-0, 170, Alleyne resides in Miramar, FL, and attends University School of Davie, FL.
At NJIT, he joins a roster that includes Floridians Oshane Moodie and Brian Caine, both of whom will be seniors on the 2010 Highlanders..
University School, coached by former Swedish national team player Solomon Kidane, is one the top high school programs in the country (rated #39 in the national “Fab 50” by ESPN Rise among winter high school teams) and was loaded with Division I signees and prospects. ESPN Rise Magazine reporting on his team, cited Alleyne as one of the top backs in Florida.
He was a four-time all-county first-team honoree and the team won the district finals all four years and was in two state finals.
In non-school soccer, he has played for Schulz Academy and Weston FC. As a member of Schulz Academy, he tested fifth nationally in his age group in SPARQ (speed, power, agility, reaction, and quickness) at the Soccer America Development Academy.
He has played in age group (u-17 and u-18) training camps for both the United States and Trinidad. The camps are part of the selection process for the men's national teams.
“We're expecting Kwesi to come in and make our defense better,” said Lopes. “He chose us over San Diego State and we are very happy about that. He's very athletic, with great speed, quickness and defensive instincts. We expect he will come in and help us immediately and that he will continue to get better from there. He has a great future.”
Alleyne is undecided about his academic major at NJIT.
Christoph Kaesler, the German center back/defensive midfielder, spent a year in the program at Hannibal-LaGrange College, which posted a 12-5-1 record in 2009.
The 22-year old will add experience, size and leadership to the NJIT defense.
“We expect Christoph to start and make an instant impact,” Lopes said. “We are re-inventing our defense with all four guys who played in back in our last (2009) game gone. He has good size and instincts and is a two-way player in the back. He's going to fit in well.”
Kaesler expects to major in international business at NJIT.
Emeka Nwachukwu, the wing forward from London, England and Queensborough (NY) Community College is 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds.
“He is a player who would help any program in the country,” Lopes said. “He is a prototypical winger on the left or right side. He can go by people and we expect him to score and set up the other forwards. He has great athleticism and instincts.”
Nwachukwu, who graduated from Westminster City School in his native London, England, plans to major in business at NJIT.
John Ricketti, the goalkeeper, is one of two high school seniors (with Kwesi Alleyne) in the five-man signing class announced by Coach Lopes.
Ricketti was a four-year starter and posted 38 career shutouts playing at Pennington School, which captured the 2008 New Jersey Prep B state title in his junior year and then reached the state Prep A title game in 2009, where it lost, 3-2, to superpower St. Benedict's Prep, which won its 21st consecutive Prep A crown.
A two-time all-state prep selection, including 2009 NJISAA Prep A 2nd team, he also received acclaim for his play in a 1-0 regular season loss vs. St. Benedict's in which Pennington was outshot, 23-2.
At NJIT, he will enter a situation in which the keeper who started all 20 games in 2009 has graduated. “We have to address losing our starter and John will compete for playing time right away,” Lopes said. “He's very confident and very vocal and he shows all the traits of a true goalkeeper.
“He's a hard-working kid and he showed the ability to raise his play in high school; against St. Benedict's, he kept his team in the game. He can be a number one if everything falls in place.”
Ricketti, who plans to major in international business at NJIT, is also a four-year starter in baseball and competed for two years in basketball and two years in track for Pennington.
Nils Warfving, the Swedish defensive midfielder, will carry on his family name with the Highlanders after the graduation of his brother, Gustav, who was a Highlander from 2006 to 2009. Gustav was the second-leading scorer for NJIT as a senior, netting two goals, plus a team-best six assists for 10 points. He was a three-time all-Atlantic Soccer Conference honoree.
Nils, who will turn 22 in September, is entering college following service in Sweden in a unit similar to the United States Navy SEALs.
Like his brother, Gustav, and Erik Magnusson (NJIT Class of '10), another four-year standout for the Highlanders, Nils Warfving is a graduate of Ronneskolan. He played club soccer in Sweden for Angelholms FF.
“He's another player we expect to make an impact,” said Lopes. “He's a solid two-way player and he has good touch and makes good decisions. He played at a strong level in Sweden and we like the maturity that he will bring, with having served in the military and being on his own for a few years since high school.
“He's going to fit in right away. He knows our guys, having visited, plus the fact that they all know Gustav and Erik.”
Nils Warfving plans to major in biomedical engineering at NJIT.
Assessing this group of newcomers, Lopes noted that there won't be a lot of time for adjustment.
Said the coach who took over the Highlanders in 2003: “We lost eight guys who started our last (2009) game. We needed to replace them with experienced, older players, which gets us to that place quicker.
“It didn't always show in the results, but we were much better last year than in previous years and we don't want to take a step backward from that.”
Looking at the specific skills of the newcomers, Lopes expects to see some positive changes even from 2009. “Our speed of play is going to increase and we will be better in the air by adding these guys to the players we have coming back,” said Lopes.
