NEWARK, NJ— NJIT men's soccer coach Fernando Barboto announced a group of 12 incoming players set to become Highlanders for the 2016 season.

Now entering his first season at the helm of the Highlanders, Barboto came to NJIT after a successful 13-year run as head coach at Iona in New Rochelle, NY, where he won 116 games and built a program from one that was winless in 20 matches the year before he arrived to one that was a perennial Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contender by the time he left.

Barboto's first NJIT recruiting class includes two goalkeepers and 10 field players. The Highlanders will have eight in-state players, one Texas native, another from Florida and two international students, both from Spain.

The new Highlanders join a program that completed the 2015 season with an overall record of 5-10-4 and highlighted by a 3-2 win over previously unbeaten #22 St. Francis Brooklyn at home on October 3.

NJIT men's soccer will play its first season as a member of the school's new multi-sport conference, the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The incoming athletes are listed alphabetically—
Andy Alvarez (Midfielder, Miami, FL/Gulliver Preparatory School)
Diogo Ferreira (Midfielder, Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth HS/Elizabeth FC)
Zach Halma (Midfielder, Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS/PDA)
Kyle Hartigan (Goalkeeper, Butler, NJ/Providence College/TSF Academy)
Paulo Lopes (Defender, Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth HS/Elizabeth FC)
Andrew Nino (Midfielder, Union City, NJ/Union City HS/TSF Academy)
Ramon Olaso (Midfielder, Zaragoza, Spain/Corazonistas La Mina/Real Zaragoza)
Victor Pujades (Goalkeeper, Santander, Spain/Honori Garcia/Villarreal FC)
Will Ringhofer (Midfielder, Frisco, TX/Wakeland HS/FC Dallas)
Frankie Salensky (Forward, Clifton, NJ/Clifton HS/PDA Academy)
Rene White (Striker, Bloomfield, NJ/Hawthorne Christian Academy/TSF Academy)
Juan Zapata (Midfield, Kearny, NJ/Kearny HS/St. Benedicts Prep)

Here is a closer look at the 2016 incoming players Barboto announced:

Andy Alvarez
Andy Alvarez, a Gulliver Preparatory High School (Miami, FL) soccer standout, was voted team MVP, Gulliver Prep Athlete of the Year, Miami Herald class 3A-1A and all-Dade County Player of the Year. He finished his senior season as the No. 5-ranked recruit in the country with 21 goals and 21 assists.

He guided Gulliver Preparatory to their second Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A State, Regional and District Championship in 2014 and 2015.
 
As a freshman, where he attended John A. Ferguson for a year, Alvarez was invited to the National Team Camp in Carson, California and Super Y Leagye (SYL) and Olympic Development Program (ODP) training camps at IMG Soccer Academies.

The 6-foot, 160 pound forward, received National Prospect Watch List and TopDrawer Soccer IMG Academy 150 recognition for the Class of 2015.

He attended United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) from July 2015-May 2016 while also, playing for the Kendall Soccer Coalition (KSC) club soccer team since 2006.

Alvarez intends to major in information technology.

Coach Barboto on Alvarez: "Andy is a very talented attacking player with a great range in passing, shooting and crossing with his left foot."

Diogo Ferreira
A 5-foot-10 midfielder from The Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, NJ, Ferriera earned Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) all-Area honorable mention, all-State and all-Prep honors after scoring 14 goals and 7 assists during his senior campaign.  For his career at Wardlaw-Hartridge, he combined for 32 goals and 37 assists.

He played for the Elizabeth Soccer Club.

A member of the swimming and track and field teams, Ferreira earned GMC all-Conference and all-Division honors in track and field
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Diogo intends to major in business.

Coach Barboto on Ferreira: "Diogo is a very versatile midfielder.  He is technical, skillful and has a good soccer brain."

Zach Halma
A four-year starter at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, ranked No. 3 by the NJ.com Top 20, Halma played a key role in Scotch Plains-Fanwood capture of the Union County Champions title in 2013, 2014 and 2015. 

The 5-foot-11 midfielder was selected Group IV State Finalist (2015) and first-team all-State Central and first-team all-County.

He played for the Players Development Academy (PDA) were his team won the New Jersey Youth Soccer Association (NJYSA) State Champions in 2014 and 2015.

Halma intends to major in civil engineering at NJIT.

Coach Barboto on Halma: "Very hard-working and technical midfielder.  He has a great engine to get up and down the field."

Kyle Hartigan
A transfer from Providence College, Hartigan attended DePaul Catholic High School, where he guided his team to two County and Conference Championships, including two State Sectional finals.

The 6-foot-7 goalkeeper was named first-team all-County and sectional all-State.

Hartigan played club for TSF Academy and intends to major in business management at NJIT.

Coach Barboto on Hartigan: "Comes to us with experience from strong training environment.  His size, athleticism and maturity will lead him to have a strong career at NJIT."

Paulo Lopes
Paulo Lopes, one of two players from Elizabeth High School, No. 10 in NJ.com Top 20, guided Elizabeth to the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 title.

Lopes was selected to the first-team all-Union County and third-team all-State selection as a senior.  He plays club for Elizabeth Youth Soccer.

He intends to major in mechanical engineering at NJIT.

Coach Barboto on Lopes: "A strong defender with instinctive defending qualities.  He has speed, power and a strong right foot".

Andrew Nino
One of just two four-year starters in school history at Union City High School, Nino had 10 goals and 15 assists as a senior - the most successful Union City has ever experienced.

Behind the play of Nino, the Soaring Eagles went 16-5-1, reached the Hudson County Tournament final and was State-ranked for most of the season.

He played club for TSF Academy.

Nino intends to major in mechanical engineering at NJIT.

Coach Barboto on Nino: "A very skillful left-footed midfielder who plays with his head up and who is an excellent passer.  He is elegant and I believe he will be an important playmaker for us."

Ramon Olaso

Olaso joins the Highlanders all the way from Real Zaragoza soccer club in Spain. 

He intends to major in business administration.

Coach Barboto on Olaso: "A very classic #10 with strong physical capabilities.  He is a player that comes from a very strong player producing academy in Real Zaragoza in Spain."

Victor Pujades
Victor Pujades comes to NJIT after capturing the 2015-16 Division De Honor Regional Championship in Spain.

Pujades intends to major in communications and media at NJIT.

Coach Barboto on Pujades: "A very technical and athletic goalkeeper.  He comes to us from the Villarreal FC youth system. who just won the Division De Honor Regional Championship in Spain."

Will Ringhofer
Ringhofer, a 5-foot-11 midfielder and four-year starter at Wakeland High School in Texas, guided the Wolverines to a 25-1-1 overall record, 16-0 in the District while, ranking fourth in the State of Texas.

The Wolverines were Dallas Cup, Region II and Texas State champions in 2015 and UIL Texas State Runner-Up.  Ringhofer plays club for FC Dallas.

Off the field, Ringhofer an AP-Scholar Athlete intends to major in mathematical science.

Coach Barboto on Ringofer: "A strong athletic midfielder with good passing range.  He has good physical capabilities to get up and down the field".

Frankie Salensky
A four-year starter at Clifton High School, Salensky guided his team, which finished the 2016 campaign with a 13-4-2 record, to the Passaic County semifinals and second round of the Group 4, North Section 1 Tournament.

An honors student, Salensky intends to major in finance at NJIT.

Salensky played club for the PDA Academy.

Coach Barboto on Salensky: "Frank is coming off an injury, and who we feel has great potential to develop in our system.  He has great explosive acceleration and speed."

Rene White
Rene White, 2015 NorthJersey.com Player of the Year and all-time leading scorer at Hawthorne Christian Academy, set single-season records for goals (31) and assists (14) during his senior campaign while closing out his four-year career at Hawthorne Christian Academy with 127 career goals and 48 assists.

The 6-foot, 165-pound forward, helped Hawthorne Christian (15-4) win its first Passaic County Boys Soccer Tournament in 2015 and earn a State Sectional Championship in 2014.  He helped the Defenders to the No. 8 spot in The Record final Top 25 rankings.

White scored 28 goals and seven assists as a freshman, earning the first of his four all-NJIC Patriot Division honors.  He scored 34 goals each of the next two seasons with 10 assists in 2013 and 17 in 2014.

He played club for TSF Academy.

White intends to major in business at NJIT.

Coach Barboto on White: "A traditional #9, we think he is the immediate future of the NJIT attack.  He is fast and strong and his movement is very advanced, which is a tribute to the great work from TSF Academy; we believe he will score a lot of goals!"

Juan Zapata
Juan Zapata, a midfielder from nearby Kearny, NJ, played his first two varsity seasons at St. Benedict's Prep before returning to his hometown High School, Kearny, for his junior and senior seasons.  The 2015 Hudson County Player of the Year scored 12 goals to earn NJ.com all-State second-team honors.

The 6-foot 160-pound midfielder was selected Regional all-American, helping Kearny to a 21-1-2 record, a Hudson County Tournament title and No. 6 ranking in the final NJ.com Top 20 (2015).

He played club for the Players Development Academy (PDA).

Coach Barboto on Zapata: "A left-footed winger who is very creative and plays with South American flair.  He will boast our team in possession, and scoring chances created".