KINGS POINT, NY…The United States Merchant Marine Academy, the No. 11 ranked team in Division III, scored once in each half, including a goal while playing 11-on-10 in the second period, and shutout New Jersey City University, 2-0, in a non-conference men’s game Saturday afternoon. USMMA improves to 17-1 overall, while NJCU, which entered the game ranked No. 4 in Division III in scoring offense, dropped to 10-7. It was only the third time NJCU has been shutout this year. The Mariners lead the all-time series, 4-1. NJCU’s lone win in the series occurred last year in Kings Point, NY, when the Gothic Knights, the No. 7 seed in the ECAC Metro Tournament, ousted No. 2 USMMA from the post-season tournament and ended its season.
Junior midfielder Nick Dandapani (Greenwich, CT/Joel Barlow) gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead at 18:20 with his fifth goal of the season, when he knocked in a one-timer from senior midfielder Glen Peer (Oswego, NY/Oswego). Peer set up the goal by tracking down a saved rebound of an initial shot by USMMA senior midfielder Marcial Alzugaray (Flushing, NY/Holy Cross).
After a red card was issued to NJCU at 67:15, the Mariners, then leading 1-0, assumed an 11-on-10 advantage. That led to the Mariners capitalizing with an insurance goal at 78:10 off the foot of senior forward Tim Shea (Lansing, KS/Lansing), who netted his third score of the season. The goal was assisted by senior midfielder Joe Meagher (Staten Island, NY/Msgr. Farrell).
NJCU senior goalkeeper BABA GUISSE (Jersey City, NJ/Lycee Eugene Delacroix, France) made six saves in defeat. USMMA senior keeper James Papazis (Malverne, NY/Archibishop Molloy) improved to 12-1 in net, and stopped four shots for his fourth shutout. The Mariners owned a slight 15-14 margin in total shots.
NJCU is back in action on Wednesday, October 27 at 3pm in a road game at Farmingdale State University.
