New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY NJ…The New Jersey City University men’s soccer broke every existing single-game offensive record, including goals (15), assists (18), points (48), and margin of victory, as the Gothic Knights hammered York College, 15-0, in a non-conference game at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. NJCU led 10-0 at the half and outshot the Cardinals overall, 48-9. All 28 NJCU players who dressed for the game played and saw at least 14 minutes of action.

 

NJCU improves to 13-3 overall with its sixth consecutive win, and its 20^th in 23 games dating to last season. The shutout was the ninth for NJCU in 16 games this season, its second straight, and fourth blanking in five games. York is 3-9-1. The Knights lead the all-time series which began in 1993, 8-1, with seven straight victories, and have outscored the Cardinals 45-5.

 

The previous records for goals, assists, points, and margin of victory occurred on September 14, 2002, when NJCU bombarded Hunter College, 14-0. In that game, the Knights tallied 14 goals, 15 assists, and 23 points.

 

The 18 assists rank tied for fifth most in a game in NCAA Division III history, while the 48 points lists 13^th in Division III history.

 

Nine NJCU players recorded multiple points, and two players netted hat tricks. However, the day belonged to senior striker CHRIS ROSENTHAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), who collected eight points with one goal and a single-game school record six assists. The six helpers eclipsed the mark of five by Manny Juste against Lehman College on November 1, 1990, and tie for fifth most assists by one player in a game in Division III history. His eight points tie for second most in a contest in school history; Rosenthal already has a nine-point game to his credit.

 

Meanwhile, Rosenthal, who increased his all-time scoring record to 112 career points, tied the single-season school record with 12 assists, achieved just last year by ADRIAN RUIZ. Rosenthal also tied Ruiz for second place in school history with 24 assists.

 

Rosenthal also scored the 10^th goal and now has 10 goals and 12 assists this season, and grabbed JULIO GARCIA" src="/images/msoccer/2005/10/17/09-11-05%20Julio%20Garcia%205.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>the team scoring lead with 32 points.

 

Sophomore forward JULIO GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) and junior forward JUAN ZUNIGA (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) each registered hat tricks in the blowout.

 

Garcia, who scored the eventual game-winner at 3:31, later added the fourth and fifth goals, giving him seven this season. Zuniga notched the 12^th, 13^th, and record-breaking 15^th goal at 79:58. His first two goals came just 3:05 apart and rank among the fastest consecutive goals by one player in NCAA Division III history.

 

Freshman forward JUAN ESPINOZA (New Brunswick, NJ/Buen Pastor (Lima, Peru) scored the second and third goals of the game, and his two tallies increased his team-lead to 14, with 30 points.

Sophomore forward MARCELO CARPIO (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), who scored twice in 52 seconds on Sunday, added two goals, the ninth and 11^th of the game. He has 10 goals and 23 points on the campaign.

 

CRISTHIAN ACUNA" src="/images/msoccer/2005/10/17/09-11-05%20Cristhian%20Acuna%208.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>Freshman midfielder CRISTHIAN ACUNA (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) finished with five points, notching his fourth goal of the year and three assists, for 14 points this season.

 

Freshman midfielder MIGUEL FONTÁN (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) also tallied five points, as he netted his first career goal, and added three assists.

 

NJCU’s other goal scorers were sophomore midfielder JOHN JENSEN (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) and freshman forward JAMEL CARSON (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial). Carson became the eighth NJCU player with double figures in points this season (11).

 

Freshman midfielder EDISON BILBAO (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) and senior midfielder JOHAN GONZALEZ (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) each contributed two assists, and Gonzalez extended his career school record for helpers to 30. Bilbao assisted on the game winner and the third goal, and now has seven assists and 15 points this season.

 

Single assists were recorded by junior midfielder CHRIS PALUMBO (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood) and freshman midfielder CARLOS ESPICHAN (Princeton, NJ/Princeton). The assist by Espichan was his first career point, and he became the 22^nd Gothic Knight to score at least one point this season.

 

The eighth, ninth, and 10^th goals of the game by Fontán (41:48), Carpio (42:24), and Rosenthal (44:58) were separated by only 3:00. Meanwhile, the fifth, sixth, and seventh goals by Garcia (22:43), Acuna (25:07), and Jensen (25:45) came within 3:02. Each string of goal ranks among the fastest three consecutive goals by the same team in Division III history.

 

The 26 seconds between the Fontán (41:48) and Carpio (42:24) goals set a school record for fastest consecutive scores.

 

Sophomore keeper BRUCE NEVES (Newark, NJ/Hudson Catholic) improved to 12-2 in net this year, and 15-3-1 in his career, making five saves in the first half. Freshman keeper RAFAEL ZABALA II (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) played the second half and stopped one shot. NJCU outshot York in the first half, 27-6, and 21-3 in the second period. Senior keeper Conroy Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica/Campertown) made nine saves for the Cardinals.

 

NJCU will host Mount St. Mary College (NY) on Wednesday, October 19 at 4 p.m. in a non-conference game at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.