STRIKER SCORES FASTEST GOAL TO START A GAME IN SCHOOL HISTORY
NEWBURGH, NY…Junior forward CHRIS ROSENTHAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) posted a natural hat-trick, including the game-winner just 23 seconds into the contest, and New Jersey City University outshot Mount St. Mary College, 31-9, as the Gothic Knights hammered MSMC, 7-0, in a non-conference game Wednesday night.
NJCU is now 9-5 overall this season, and leads the all-time series between these schools, 13-2, including nine straight victories. It is the fifth shutout in the series which began in 1983. NJCU has outscored MSMC, 57-15. The loss for the Blue Knights drops their record to 3-10.
Rosenthal’s first career hat-trick gives him 14 goals in 14 games, and leaves him four shy of matching the single-season school record of 18 goals. He only played the game’s first 32 minutes. His goal just 23 seconds into the game was the fastest goal to start a game in school history.
NJCU senior goalkeeper BABA GUISSE (Jersey City, NJ/Lycee Eugene Delacroix, France) needed just two saves to register his sixth shutout of the season and the 17th solo of his four-year career. He is one shutout shy of matching the record of 18 set by JEFF EAST, the younger brother of head coach Kevin East in a three-year career from 1998-2000.
Also for NJCU, senior forward ADRIAN RUIZ (Fairview, NJ/Dickinson) had a goal and an assist to give him 63 career points. Freshman midfielder SCOTT MODZELEWSKI (Monroe, NJ/Monroe Township) notched his first career goal and added his fourth assist of the year for a three-point day, and former high school teammate and NJCU freshman forward JOHN JENSEN (Monroe, NJ/Monroe Township) contributed two assists.
Freshman forward JULIO GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) added his fourth goal of the year to post a goal in consecutive games. Freshman forward LAURENS APUY (Wallington, NJ/Wallington) achieved his first career point with a second half goal.
NJCU built a comfortable 4-0 half-time lead behind Rosenthal. Just 23 seconds into the game, Rosenthal beat MSMC freshman keeper Evan Spitz (Palenville, NY/Catskill) to a pass from junior midfielder JOHAN GONZALEZ (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) and rolled a 25-yard shot into the net. The 23-second score eclipsed the record of 29 seconds established by Dan Phillips in a 1-0 win over William Paterson University on October 08, 2001. The assist for Gonzalez was his fourth of the year and 17th of his career.
Rosenthal added to his scoring at 22:16 when he fired a shot that hit the crossbar, gathered his own rebound, and found nylon. His third goal at 28:23 was manufactured by a cross into the box from Jensen and Ruiz, for a double assist.
Modzelewski tapped in his first career goal at 36:31 when he was on the receiving end of a throw-in by senior defender JOSE BLACKBURN (Montclair, NJ/Montclair). Garcia increased the lead to 5-0 at 54:11 of the second half when he finished a cross into the box by sophomore defender MILTON SUAH (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central).
A Jensen corner kick and Modzelewski header opened up Ruiz for his sixth goal of the year and the sixth goal of the game at 58:23, on a second double-assist. Apuy wrapped up the scoring at 88:52 when he recovered a loose ball in the box and beat the Blue Knight defense.
Spitz made three saves while playing the first 45 minutes. Freshman Kyle Reiss (Oxford, NY/Oxford Academy & Central Schools) stopped four shots in 45 minutes. MSMC also had two team saves.
NJCU is back in action on Saturday, October 16 at 2pm when the Gothic Knights host Medgar Evers College in game two of a home doubleheader at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
