JERSEY CITY, NJ…Freshman forward ALLAN FLORES (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) buried his first collegiate goal on a blast at 76:18 of the second half to put New Jersey City University on the board, and junior forward CHRIS ROSENTHAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) added an important insurance goal less than four minutes later as the Gothic Knights outshot SUNY-Old Westbury, 35-5, and shutout the Panthers, 2-0, at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
NJCU improved to 5-2 overall with the victory, while the Panthers fall to 2-4 with their third straight loss. It was the first meeting between the schools in men’s soccer since 1994. NJCU leads the all-time series, 6-1, and have won the last four meetings, all via shutout.
The Gothic Knights were playing in their first game in a week, and looked sluggish. While NJCU dominated the game in ball possession, and held a convincing 35-5 lead in shots, including 24-1 in the second half, only 12 shots were on net.
While the Knights had problems finishing through much of the game, Flores took care of that problem at 76:18. Freshman forward JULIO GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) flipped a pass over the defense, which Flores buried into the left side of the net, past a diving Panthers keeper.
Just 3:34 later, Rosenthal, who had come close to giving NJCU the lead at several points of the second half, provided a huge insurance goal when he finished a breakaway ball at 79:52 for his eighth goal of the season. The goal was set up with a thru-ball by junior defender CARLOS GRACA (Hillside, NJ/Hillside), who notched his first point as a member of the NJCU squad.
The goal for Rosenthal gave him a team best 19 points this season. The junior striker has scored at least one goal in 11 of NJCU’s last 12 games dating to last season. He alone uncorked 11 of NJCU’s 35 shots, including four on goal. He nearly put NJCU on top at 48:01 of the second period, when he blasted a shot than drew right post.
While NJCU easily controlled the offensive game, the Panthers remained alive late in the contest due to magnificent goalkeeping by freshman Brian Hicks (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream South), who made 10 saves, and seven in the second half, including three highlight-reel quality. He smothered a point-blank shot by Rosenthal from the right wing at 66:33 that was destined for the net, and earlier made a terrific diving stop at the top of the box at 59:19 to prevent Flores from scoring. In the final four minutes, he also made a nice leaping save to stop a shot by Garcia.
Senior goalkeeper BABA GUISSE (Jersey City, NJ/Lycee Eugene Delacroix, France) made four saves to notch his 15th career shutout, and his third of the season. He is three shutouts 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.
NJCU returns to action on Saturday, September 25 at 1pm when the Knights host Hunter College.
