New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

STATEN ISLAND, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior midfielder NANA KOFI KUSI (Newark, NJ/Kumasi Academy (Ghana) chalked up his second career hat trick and third multi-goal game and sophomore forward RAPHAEL ARAUJO (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) tacked on a pair of goals as New Jersey City University crushed Benedictine University (Ill.), 6-2, in the final round of the CSI Soccer Fall Classic at the College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon.
 
NJCU (1-1) bounced back from a 2-1 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in yesterday's season opener and made first-year head coach Patrick Snyder a winner for the first time at the helm of the Gothic Knights. Benedictine (0-2) had also lost 2-0 to host Staten Island on Friday. It was the first-ever meeting between the schools and NJCU's first-ever match against current members of the Northern Athletics Conference. NJCU outshot the Eagles, 24-10.
 
Kofi Kusi, who scored only three goals in 15 games last season after netting nine as an All-Conference selection in his first year with NJCU in 2010, matched his 2011 season totals in one afternoon by scoring the first, third and fifth goals for the Knights.
 
Araujo, who scored NJCU's only goal yesterday, added the second and fourth goals for the Knights to give him three goals in two games to start the season. After scoring twice in 12 games as a rookie, and none following September 10, 2011, Araujo has already exceeded last year's totals. He added his first career assist on Kofi Kusi's second goal of the game and finished with a five point effort..
  
Kofi Kusi and Araujo set a school record for fastest consecutive goals when the pair scored the third and fourth goals of the game just 20 seconds apart—38:17 and 38:37—late in the first half. The previous record was 24 seconds during the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
“It always feels good to get the first one out of the way,” Snyder said of his first win as NJCU head coach. “You don't want to start off the season with an 0-for. I thanked each of the guys after the game for getting it done early.”
 
Freshman midfielder ALEC METSCH (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) collected his first collegiate goal in his first action in the 89^th minute to cap the scoring.
 
Freshman forward ABOUBACAR DIAWARA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), senior midfielder EDUARDO TEJADA (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) and sophomore midfielder ANDREW CARVALHOSO (Linden, NJ/Linden) each contributed assists for NJCU.
 
Freshman goalkeeper KEVIN FUENTES (West New York, NJ/Memorial) saw his first career action while making the start and earned the win with two saves. NJCU also has a team save in the 54^th minute. Freshman goalie Zorohn Reed (Chicago, IL) made 10 saves in defeat for the Eagles.
 
“The guys were finding each other and creating lanes,” noted Snyder of NJCU's offensive outburst, bouncing back nicely from the season-opening loss. “Even on Nana's two unassisted goals, guys were creating space for him to take.  We encouraged them to shoot more before the game and they did.”
 
Sophomore midfielder Ante Markotic (Chicago, IL) scored an unassisted goal at 46:47 of the second half off a turnover to break-up the shutout before senior forward Eric Selcke (West Chicago, IL) added a second goal at 52:28 off an assist from sophomore midfielder Edgar Reyes (Joliet, IL).
 
Kofi Kusi opened the scoring at the 8:56 mark when he stole a ball and dribbled to goal, scoring from the right side for a 1-0 lead. Nearly 20 minutes later NJCU moved in front 2-0 when Diawara slipped a lead pass from the middle of the field, sending Araujo in for a 1-on-1 and goal at 28:27.
 
Kofi Kusi and Araujo's school-record goals made it 4-0. Kofi Kusi dribbled up the right wing off an Araujo feed before unleashing a blast and Araujo scored off a turnover on the right side.
  
Clutching a 4-2 lead after the Eagles scored their second goal in the 53^rd minute, NJCU's defense limited the opposition to just two shots in the final 36 minutes of the game.
 
Kofi Kusi completed his hat trick and made the lead three goals when he took a feed from Tejada, dribbled into the box and drove a bullet between several defenders for a 5-2 advantage at the 81:32 mark. Metsch capped the scoring at 88:10 off a pass into the box from Carvalhoso.
 
NJCU is back on the pitch on Wednesday, September 5 at 4 p.m. when it faces the City College of New York in a non-conference game in Randall's Island, NY.