New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score STATEN ISLAND, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior midfielder AMANDA FILIPPONE (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) put away a 33^rd minute penalty kick and two-time All-Conference junior goalkeeper BRITTANY HOFFMAN (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) and sophomore transfer  CASSIE LUBONSKI (Edison, NJ/Edison) combined to shutout City College of New York as New Jersey City University opened its 21^st season of women's soccer with a 1-0 victory in the CSI Soccer Fall Classic on August 30 at the CSI Soccer Complex.

In only the second game ever played in the month of August in program history, NJCU (1-0), playing its earliest game ever on the calendar, made first-year head coach Mike Vivino a winner in his collegiate coaching debut.
 
The game with CCNY (0-1), the 2012 CUNYAC conference champions (16-5), marked the second consecutive season NJCU has played an NCAA Tournament qualifier from the previous year in the first game of a season.
 
NJCU outshot the Beavers in each half and finished with a 16-10 advantage with an additional 5-1 edge in corner kick opportunities.
 
In the 33^rd minute, freshman forward JILLIAN PECINA (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) beat opposing goalkeeper Nicole Carroll one-on-one and was tripped up in the box, drawing a penalty kick. Filippone, her high school teammate, cashed in with a shot to the near left side at the 32:41 mark for the only goal the Gothic Knights would need. It was the fourth goal of her career and the first game-winner for the 2013 co-captain.
 
Hoffman played the first 45 minutes in net, making one save against three shots. Lubonski, a transfer from Ramapo College, made two saves against seven second-half chances.  Carroll totaled eight saves for CCNY.
 
In front of the two NJCU goalkeepers, a defensive unit that included senior KARLA REYES-ABRIL (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex), junior ALEJANDRA REYNOZA (Union City, NJ/Union City), and freshmen JESSICA CHANDLER (Fountain Hills, AZ/Fountain Hills) and JUBETH BUITRAGO (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) helped pitch the 57^th shutout in school history.
 
"From an effort standpoint, it was a good game," described Vivino. "With a short bench, there are no style points and with fatigue at the end, the final few minutes were stressful. We were just looking to get the job done, which is what we did today. We probably could have put a few more [goals] in but we dominated from a possession and effort standpoint. This was a good confidence booster. It shows the work they put in during the preseason was for something and it's nice to have a little result to go along with it."
 
Filippone and Lubonski, who started the game in the field before moving to the net, each had a game-high four shots, with two each on goal. Jessica Salas led CCNY with three shots. With CCNY's last shot of the game, Heather Ruger skimmed the outside of the post with 1:34 remaining.
 
On Sunday, September 1, NJCU meets host College of Staten Island in the second game of the tournament at 10 a.m.