Joe Burgos was named the NJCU Men’s Athlete of the Week in a historic week in which he was later tabbed New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the first time and later selected the United Soccer Coaches Division III National Player of the Week—the first Gothic Knight field player to ever achieve the distinction.
There are break out weeks and then there are kick in the door and burn-it-down weeks. The latter adequately describes senior midfielder Joe Burgos.
After not contributing a point in his first two seasons at NJCU and just one assist in the first two games of this year, he burst onto the scene with an incredible week—four goals, three assists and 11 total points—to help NJCU improve to a perfect 5-0-0 on the season. He produced multiple points in all three games and had 13 shots with five on goal over 233 minutes.
In NJCU’s 4-1 win at Albright on September 3, Burgos, who had never scored for the Gothic Knights in his first 33 career games in Jersey City, scored three second half goals to snap a 1-1 tie and lift the Gothic Knights to a 4-1 non-conference road win. After NJCU tied the game 1-1 in the 30th minute, Burgos took off—scoring twice in a span of 3:40 in the 64th and 68th minutes to seize a 3-1 lead before cementing his place in program history with a hat trick with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation. He had five shots with three on goal.
On September 6 in a 5-0 shutout of previously unbeaten Yeshiva, Burgos had a goal and an assist. He gave NJCU an insurance goal for a 3-0 lead in the 70th minute, then assisted on the fourth goal four minutes later. He had four shots with two on goal.
On September 7 in a 4-1 road win at Centenary, Burgos notched his first career multi-assist day. He added four shots. Burgos assisted on the eventual game-winning goal in the 32nd minute as NJCU built a 3-0 halftime lead, then added an assist on the fourth goal.