New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…New Jersey City University had been one of the top offensive units in Division III, with 74 goals in 18 games. Ramapo College had allowed only three goals in 14 games, and was one of the top defensive clubs in the nation. On Monday, offense conquered defense, as NJCU, ranked No. 16 in the nation, dominated in shots against #8 ranked Ramapo College, 30-5, and stunned the stellar Roadrunner defense with a 4-0 victory in a key New Jersey Athletic Conference men’s soccer showdown at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.

              

Freshman forward JUAN ESPINOZA (New Brunswick, NJ/Buen Pastor (Lima, Peru)) scored the opening two goals of the game for NJCU, giving him 17 on the season, and freshman midfielder EDISON BILBAO (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) added a goal and an assist.

 

With the win, NJCU, winners of 8-of-9, improves to 15-4-0 overall and 5-3-0 in the NJAC, by defeating a nationally ranked opponent for the fourth time in four games this season, and the seventh time in program history. It was NJCU’s fifth-ever win over a Top 10 opponent.

 

Prior to this season, NJCU owned only three wins and one tie against ranked opponents, with all coming since 1998. The four goals marks the second most NJCU has ever scored against a ranked team; the Knights defeated Rutgers-Camden, 5-0, on September 24.

EDISON BILBAO" src="/images/msoccer/2005/10/24/09-11-05%20Edison%20Bilbao%2014.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>

The fifth conference win breaks the school record for NJAC victories, achieved four times. NJCU had won four NJAC games in 1985, 2000, 2001, and 2003.

 

Ramapo (11-2-2, 5-1-2), which had been unbeaten in its last nine games and had allowed only one NJAC goal this year, has been a fixture in the national rankings since September 27, and in the Top 10 nationally for the past three weeks. The loss for the Roadrunners was their first since a 1-0 decision to Eastern Connecticut on September 10.

              

Additionally, Ramapo, which entered the game with six straight shutouts, had its consecutive scoreless minutes streak snapped at 595:17 when NJCU gained a 1-0 lead. Ramapo leads the all-time series, 15-13-4 (one missing result), but NJCU has won five of the last six meetings. Ironically, it was the first time Ramapo had allowed multiple goals in a game since a 3-0 loss in the ECAC Semifinals on November 13, 2004; that loss also came against NJCU.

 

 With one NJAC game remaining, five teams are battling for first place and the two available first round byes in the six-team league tournament. The College of New Jersey is first with 18 points, while Ramapo has 17. Richard Stockton College and Camden each have 16, while NJCU (15) earns three points with today’s 4-0 decision. NJCU owns tie-breakers with TCNJ, Ramapo, and Camden, by virtue of head-to-head wins.

 

Espinoza surprised Ramapo at 11:41, as he set the tone for the contest by receiving a cross from freshman midfielder JONATHAN BILBAO (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) at the top of the box. There, he dribbled to his right and curved a bullet inside the right corner of the net, and past diving CRISTHIAN ACUNA" src="/images/msoccer/2005/10/24/09-11-05%20Cristhian%20Acuna%209.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>Ramapo rookie keeper Michael Kull (Millville, NJ/Millville Senior). Espinoza’s 16^th goal and Bilbao’s eighth assist proved to be the decisive points. The goal also gave Espinoza the conference lead in game-winners with five.

 

Espinoza added his conference-leading 17^th goal and 37^th point at 33:31, when his right-wing header of a cross from freshman midfielder CRISTHIAN ACUNA (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) banked in off the right post. The assist was Acuna’s seventh of the year. Acuna had a goal from 35-yards out waived off in the 17^th minute.

 

NJCU led 2-0 at the half behind an 18-3 surge in shots. The Knights extended the lead to 3-0 at 75:15, when a starting decision by head coach KEVIN EAST paid dividends. Senior striker CHRIS ROSENTHAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), the NJAC’s leader in points (35) and assists (13) entering the game, did not play after being fouled hard against Stockton on Sunday.

 

In his place, junior forward JUAN ZUNIGA (Passaic, NJ/Passaic), who had only played in eight of 18 games this season coming in, started for the fourth time, and matched Espinoza with a game-high seven shots. He put the game away at 75:15 with a beautiful header inside the left post off EDISON BILBAO’s free kick from the right wing. It was his fourth goal of the season—all coming in the last eight days—and Bilbao’s eight assist, matching his brother for second on the team.

 

Just 3:21 later, EDISON BILBAO capped the scoring when his fifth goal of the season on a blast from 15 yards out on the left wing found pay dirt, off a thru ball at 78:36 from senior midfielder JOHAN GONZALEZ (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), the program’s all-time leader with 31 assists (seven in 2005).

 

NJCU outshot Ramapo in the second half, 12-2. There were a combined 54 fouls whistled.

RONNIE SANCHEZ" src="/images/msoccer/2005/10/24/09-11-05%20Ronnie%20Sanchez%2010.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>

Sophomore keeper BRUCE NEVES (Newark, NJ/Hudson Catholic) needed only one save to record his fifth shutout of the season and the team’s 10th in 19 games. He is 14-3 in net this season and 17-4-1 in his career. Kull, who entered the game with a meager 0.27 goals against average, stopped six shots, while losing for only the second time.

 

The solid NJCU defensive effort of juniors ANTHONY FLORES (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) and RONNIE SANCHEZ (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), sophomore MIKE McCORMICK (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), and senior BERTHONY DORCIUS (Asbury Park, NJ/Asbury Park) only allowed one shot on goal the entire game.

 

NJCU concludes its regular season on Wednesday, October 26 with a road NJAC game against William Paterson University at 7 p.m. in Wayne, NJ.