WEEK of: OCTOBER 20-26, 2008
Sophomore striker JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) has been named the NJCU Women's co-Athlete of the Week for the third time this season and the sixth time in her career in a week in which she was selected as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
Albuja accumulated seven points on three goals and one assist in a 1-1 week for the Gothic Knights. The NJAC honor is for week nine of the 2008 campaign.
NJCU (8-9) outscored its opponents, 9-1, behind Albuja, who unleashed 14 shots for the week with 11 on goal. Albuja, the 2007 NJAC Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-NJAC selection, previously earned NJAC Player of the Week honors on September 8 during week two of the season.
In NJCU’s 9-0 win over St. Elizabeth on October 21, she scored three times, including her 26th of the season and 50th of her career and added an assist. Albuja, who now has 26 goals and 56 points this season, broke her own school records of 24 goals and 51 points achieved last year.
Albuja entered the game with 23 goals and 100 career points, before scoring the second, sixth and seventh goals of the contest as she recorded her sixth hat trick of season and ninth of her career while notching her 14th multiple-goal game.
Albuja, one of 21 players in New Jersey Athletic Conference history to record 100 career points and one of just two to accomplish the feat as a sophomore, climbed into 14th place in league history with 107 total points. She also moved past current men’s soccer senior Cristhian Acuna (105 points, 2005-08) for the second most between men’s and women’s players in school history.
Now with 26 goals, she is tied for the second most in single-season NJAC history. Her 56 points are fourth most in the league’s annals.
Her first goal came at 13:10 when she drove to the net on a breakaway, collected her own rebound, and knocked in a shot from 15 yards for her 24th goal. At 50:18 of the second half a shot by Albuja was saved, before the rebound it created was immediately headed inside the right post as she received the assist.
Albuja followed with two goals in a span of 29 seconds at 64:46 and 65:15. She broke the school record for goals in a season with her initial score, as she blasted a breakaway pass into the right side of the net. Albuja used a chip from 12 yards out off a cross to cap her hat trick.
In a 1-0 overtime loss to Rutgers University-Camden on October 25, she had NJCU’s lone shot on goal, playing all 94:18 of the contest.
For the year, Albuja continues to lead the NJAC in goals, goals per game (1.53), points, points per game (3.29), shots (109), and shots per game (6.41), while ranking second in game-winning goals (5) and third in game-winners per game (0.29).
While at one point this year Albuja led the nation in goals and points, she continues to rank among the Top 10 nationally. Through October 19, she was sixth in Division III in goals per game and 10th in points per game, and should climb in both categories this week.
