LUMBERTON — Two years ago, Hoslerson Joseph joined the Lumberton High School soccer program after transferring to the school from Virginia.

This fall, he’ll join another — at the next level.

Joseph signed Wednesday to play college soccer at Shaw University, an NCAA Division-II program in Raleigh.

“I decided to go to Shaw University because the coach was very nice, the players were friendly and also it’s not too far from home, and I think it’s the best fit for me,” Joseph said.

Joseph was part of two United-8 Conference championship-winning teams with the Pirates, going 43-5-1 overall and 26-0 in conference play over his two seasons in the program.

Joseph scored 38 goals with 10 assists as a junior in 2021 and had a 49-goal, five-assist season last fall as a senior; he was named Robeson County Player of the Year by The Robesonian in 2021 and shared Player of the Year honors with Lumberton teammate Luis Izeta in 2022.

“He was a goal-scorer, and goals change games, and he had a knack for scoring goals at very important moments in games, and sometimes in bunches,” Lumberton coach Kenny Simmons said. “He fit in well and it just made us a much better team, and the guys accepted him from the get-go and he’s been a vital part of a our program for the last two years.”

Joseph won a state championship as a sophomore at Nandua High School in Onley, Virginia, before moving to Lumberton.

“The first time I met Son (I was) skeptical, not really sure, but he quickly changed our minds with that when I first saw him play,” Simmons said. “I told the story (at the signing) about practicing that night, when he came over and introduced himself and his family, and shortly leaving thereafter; (assistant coach Lauren) Caulder had Googled his name on her phone and pulled up an article where him and his brother had led their high school to a state championship and was coming off a 38-goal season. A player of his quality, he fit in immediately with a very good group of players, and he just made us that much better.”

Shaw, a historically-Black college, established a men’s soccer program in 2017; the program competes as an independent.

“I think they’re getting a guy with a lot of potential that can be really successful on that next level,” Simmons said. “It being a fairly new program, and the fact that it’s a small campus and a very family-oriented program, I think it’s going to fit very well for Son.”

“It’s a very big opportunity,” Joseph said. “I really worked hard for this, and my coaches, my teammates, all of them pushed me to be the best and I’m grateful for that. … Its an hour and a half from home, not too far. I can drive there, my family can come visit.”