Temple University men’s soccer adds nine to roster ahead of 2020 season

The Temple University men’s soccer program has made nine additions to its roster ahead of the 2020 season.

Head coach Brian Rowland announced on Thursday that the following student-athletes will join the Owls roster: Jared Dubose (Woodbridge, Va.), Mike Eijgendaal (Woerden, NED), Fabian Grant (Kingston, JAM), Nigel Griffith (Stroudsburg, Pa.), Nikolas Hartman (Ibiza, Spain), Jimi Leder (Doylestown, Pa.), Alex Marin (Toronto, CAN), transfer Brady O’Connor (Baltimore, Md.) and Cesar Ripa (Catalunya, Spain).

See below for more information on each of the new signings, and Click Here to read quotes from Rowland on each student-athlete:

Jared Dubose is a 5-11 forward from Woodbridge, Va. and comes to Temple from C.D. Hylton High School. As a junior, he was named first team All-District (Cardinal), first team All-Region (6C), first team All-State (VA) and first team All-Met (DMV) en route to being crowned Player of the Year for both the Cardinal District and Region 6C. Off the field, he was a community service volunteer through Kits for the Homeless and was a part of the Center for International Studies and Language at Hylton. Jared played club for McLean ECNL Soccer’s 01/02 team and plans to major in Psychology at Temple.

Mike Eijgendaal is a 6-1 forward from Woerden, Utrecht and comes to Temple as a sophomore from Midland University. At Midland, he picked up first team All-GPAC nods, earned Offensive Player of the Week honors from the conference twice and was selected as the NAIA Offensive Player of the Week on one occasion. He led Midland with 12 goals and five assists, helping the squad finish second in the GPAC and leading them to the first round of the NAIA Championships. At the club level, he led Sportlust ’46 to a championship title and was the U-15 top-scorer with 23 goals during the 2015-16 season. Son of John and Karin Eijgendaal, Mike plans to major in general business administration at Temple.

Fabian Grant is a 5-11 midfielder from Kingston, Jamaica and comes to Temple after two seasons with Daytona State College. The rising junior picked up All-Region honors as a sophomore after scoring three goals and dishing out three assists from his holding midfield position at Daytona State. He graduated from Kingston College High School in 2017 where he was called up to play for his country’s senior men’s team on two occasions. In the classroom, he was a member of the Dean’s List twice and President’s List once at Daytona State and plans to major in either business management of finance at Temple.

Nigel Griffith is a 5-9 striker from Stroudsburg, Pa. and Stroudsburg High School, where he graduated Cum Laude in 2019. At the club level, he played for the PDA Academy U-16 to U-19 teams where he scored more than 50 goals in four seasons. He earned a spot on the Eastern Conference Best XI during the 2016-17 season and is currently a member of the Barbados U-20 National Team. Son to Steve and Kristy Griffith, Nigel plans to major in business management at Temple.

Nikolas Hartman is a 6-foot goalkeeper from the Balearic Islands in Ibiza, Spain and comes to Temple from Louisiana State University at Shreveport. The freshman goalkeeper shined at LSU Shreveport, earning second-team honors from the Red River Athletic Conference and while holding the best GAA (0.42) in the league. His 0.900 goals against per game ranked 21st in the NAIA and he helped his team qualify for the the NAIA National Championship. He graduated from Montverde Academy in 2018 with a 4.0 GPA and earned the Eagle Award for being the team’s most valuable player. Son to Francisca Maria Fernandez Iniesta and Jorn Hartmann, he plans to major in international business at Temple.

Jimi Leder is a 5-8 defender from Doylestown, Pa. and graduated from Central Bucks West High School in 2020. He led CB West to 18 wins and the state finals his senior year after recording nine goals and eight assists. As a junior, he picked up All-League nods en route to helping his team to a District Championship title with 16 wins. He earned All-Region, All-League and All-Academic honors as a sophomore and helped his team qualify for the state tournament for the first time in school history as a freshman. At the club level, he helped the Ukrainian Nationals qualify for Nationals in Kansas in 2019 and he played in the Gothia World Cup in Sweden. Son to Rob and Amy Leder, he plans to major in business management at Temple.

Alex Marin is a 6-3 striker from Toronto, Ontario and graduated as an honors student from Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in 2020. He picked up numerous accolades with his high school team, including YRAA Champion, YRAA leading goal scorer, YRAA Player of the Year, STL Player of the Year, STL Athlete of the Season, Edmond Campion Invitational Champion, top goal scorer and MVP. At the club level, he most recently played for Vaughan SC and was a member of Toronto FC from 2015-19. He also was a member of the Canadian Men’s National Team U-15 Pool. Son to Mirela Marin, he plans to major in business at Temple.

Brady O’Connor is a 6-1 forward from Baltimore, Md. and comes to Temple after two seasons at George Washington University. At GW, he started 24 of the 20 games he played in, ranked fifth among the Colonials with five points as a sophomore and posted four goals and led the team with three game-winners as a freshman. He graduated from Calvert Hall High School in 2017 where he earned First Team All-Metro honors with 11 goals and 12 assists as a senior. In 2016, he led his team to a MIAA Conference Championship title and was a team captain.

Cesar Ripa is a 6-foot defender from Catalunya, Spain and comes to Temple from Montverde Academy in Florida. At the club level, he played with Girona FC (Peralada CF) and led the team to two First Division Championships in 2017-18 and 2016-17. Son of Marina Derouet and Jean-Michel Ripa, he plans to major in Business at Temple.