POMONA, NJ…Freshman midfielder
JONATHAN BILBAO (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) ripped a game-winning shot off a cross from his twin brother
EDISON BILBAO (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) in the 79
th minute, as
New Jersey City University, the fifth seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament, rallied from a 2-1 second half deficit, to surprise fourth-seeded and No. 23 ranked Richard Stockton College, 3-2, in the NJAC Quarterfinals on Saturday night.
NJCU improves to 16-5 overall and advanced to the NJAC Semifinals on Wednesday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. against top-seeded The College of New Jersey, in Ewing, NJ. NJCU already owns a 2-1 win over TCNJ in Ewing on October 15.
The win for NJCU was its fifth in five games against nationally ranked opponents this season, and its second this week. It is also NJCU’s eighth victory over a ranked team in program history. Prior to this season, NJCU owned only three wins and one tie against ranked opponents, with all coming since 1998. NJCU has twice defeated a nationally-ranked Ospreys club since 2000.
Stockton (12-6-1) will wait for word of an NCAA or ECAC Tournament bid. It was the second meeting between the schools in Pomona in seven days; the Ospreys edged NJCU, 2-1, on October 23.
NJCU, making its fifth appearance in the NJAC Tournament, improves to 2-4 all-time in the conference event. It was the third time NJCU had met the Ospreys in the NJAC’s—all in Pomona. The schools tied, 0-0, in 1999, before the Ospreys advanced on penalty kicks. In 2001, Stockton edged NJCU, 3-1, in the NJAC Championship game, en route to winning its only national title.
Stockton gained a 1-0 lead at 7:50 of the first half, as freshman midfielder
Mike Holmes (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) took a feed from senior forward
Scott Adams (Myerstown, PA/E. Lebanon County) on the right wing and buried his second goal of the season past charging sophomore goalkeeper
BRUCE NEVES (Newark, NJ/Hudson Catholic).
Minutes before halftime, NJCU drew even, as freshman forward
#JUAN ESPINOZA#
(New Brunswick, NJ/Buen Pastor (Lima, Peru)) blasted a shot from the left wing at 39:12 that deflected off the finger tips of Stockton sophomore keeper
Tim McKenna (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and across the goal line. Had the ball not crossed the line,
JONATHAN BILBAO was positioned for the rebound.
The unassisted tally was Espinoza’s conference leading 18th goal and 40th point of the season, breaking the NJCU rookie record for points. Pedro Prior had 39 points in 2003 (18 goals, three assists).
After a halftime deadlock, sophomore defender Dan Kroslin (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) rifled a shot that Neves was able to leap and save off the crossbar, but sophomore midfielder Domenick Raimo (Delran, NJ/Delran) was there for the rebound, to give the Ospreys a 2-1 lead at 68:16 with his eighth goal of the season. It was Kroslin’s first assist.
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CHRIS ROSENTHAL" src="/images/msoccer/2005/10/30/09-05-04%20Chris%20Rosenthal%2013.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>
Less than two minutes later, NJCU was fouled in the penalty area on an uncontested drive to the goal. Senior forward
CHRIS ROSENTHAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) was awarded the penalty kick, and he drilled his 13
th goal of the year and 47
th of his three-year career, tying the game at 2-2 at 70:12, with a laser into the upper left corner, and just beyond the reach of
McKenna, who guessed the correct direction.
Rosenthal is 2-for-2 in penalty kicks this season, and now has 39 points, second in the NJAC.
EDISON BILBAO left the game with a leg injury in the 76
th minute, but returned in time to set up his brother for the winner. At 78:29, he crossed his ninth assist of the year from the left wing to the top of the box, where
JONATHAN BILBAO ripped his sixth goal of the season through traffic and into the right side of the net.
NJCU outshot the Ospreys, 20-16, including 15-7 in the first half. There were a combined 45 fouls whistled in the contest. Neves made five saves for NJCU, while McKenna stopped two shots for RSC.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
