Northeastern Soccer Welcomes New Additions
Eric Edge (goalkeeper) from Cheltenham, England, previously played at Dodge City Community College in Dodge, Kansas. Eric was named Region XI defensive player of the year and also named to the All-Region XI team.
De Sorde Lopes (attacker), Vitor Venancio (midfielder), Tulio Aquino (midfielder), Alan Gomes (midfielder), Daniel Lima (attacker) and Caio Baima (midfielder) all from Fortaleza, Brazil.
Gabriel Monteiro (midfielder) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Riley Mayne (goalkeeper) from Gold Coast, Australia, previously played at California Baptist (D2) in Riverside, California. Riley started as a freshman at a four year in multiple games and was named PacWest player of the week on October 24th.
Jordan Walton (midfield) from Traralgon, Australia.
Mustafa Nadeem (attacker) from Lahore, Pakistan, previously played at Dodge City Community College in Dodge, Kansas. Mustafa has played for his country’s national team.
Gaetan Garcia (midfielder) from Beziers, France.
“These student-athletes decided that NJC was the institution where they wanted to continue their athletic and academic endeavors. We are proud because we feel like we are moving in the correct direction as a program and we picked up not only great talent but great maturity as well. We moved quickly when we found out that some of these guys needed a new situation and each of them was not short of suitors.”
“If we want to reach our goals and be the best, we needed to grow as a group and do that as quickly as possible. These guys not only know how to get things done on the field but in the classroom as well. On the field, we greatly improved our selection in midfield, attack, and the goalkeeping position. We felt good about our team last year defensively but too dependent on a few guys to get the job done in front of the net. These moves help us become a more well-rounded group and gives us a much deeper bench moving forward.”
“We want to continue to grow and expand our team after a year of firsts. We were the most improved team in the country, we were the youngest teams in the country, and we set all sorts of individual records and firsts for the soccer program at this school. With that being said, we don’t have a trophy in the trophy cabinet so those things count for little. We want to be at the national tournament and I believe I’ve brought in the correct caliber of players with the talent, maturity, hunger, and desire to get us there," Northeastern head coach David Groves said.
The Plainsmen spring schedule will be announced shortly and includes visits to FC Greeley of the United States Premier Soccer League (semi-pro), South Dakota School of Mines (D2), and Adams State (D2).