New Jersey City University Athletics

 

EWING, NJ…Sophomore forward Craig Langan (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) scored the second of his two goals at 56:19 to give #8 ranked The College of New Jersey a 3-2 lead, and the Lions’ defense limited the high-powered New Jersey City University offense to five second half shots, as TCNJ rallied from a 2-1 half-time deficit, and edged #16-ranked NJCU, 3-2, in front of 480 fans in the New Jersey Athletic Conference semifinals at Lions’ Stadium.

              

Top-seeded TCNJ improves to 13-2-1 and will host #2 Rutgers University-Camden in the NJAC Finals on November 5, its first appearance in the title game since 2002. NJCU, the fifth seed, falls to 16-6 overall. The Gothic Knights, ranked second in the final NCAA regional poll, will wait until Sunday evening to learn if they will receive an at-large bid to the expanded NCAA Tournament. Otherwise, NJCU, which has scored 84 goals in 22 games, will likely earn an invite to the ECAC Metro Tournament. NJCU won that championship in 2004.

              

NJCU, which defeated Richard Stockton College, 3-2 in the NJAC Quarterfinals on October 29, had entered the contest with a 5-0 record this season against nationally ranked opponents, including a 2-1 decision over TCNJ in Ewing on October 15. It is TCNJ’s only home loss this season.

              

TCNJ owned an overall 22-19 edge in shots, but neither team could find the scoreboard in the first 35 minutes. Langan put the Lions in front at 35:15 with his second goal of the season, as he received a cross in the goalmouth from senior midfielder Matthew Connor (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic), turned and fired.

 

NJCU had a chance to tie it at 38:07. After senior forward CHRIS ROSENTHAL (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) was taken down in the box on a clear path to the goal, freshman midfielder EDISON BILBAO (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) was awarded a penalty kick. However, sophomore keeper Matt Kasperavicius (Jackson, NJ/Jackson) stopped the shot diving towards the left post, and Bilbao chipped the rebound high and over the crossbar. Bilbao had another good chance in the box 49 seconds later, but was thwarted by the TCNJ defense.

 

Moments later, NJCU head coach KEVIN EAST made a substitution that quickly paid dividends, as junior forward JUAN ZUNIGA (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) entered a match for the 11^th time in 22 games this year at 38:34.

 

At 41:04, Zuniga had a 1-on-1 breakaway in the box, which Kasperavicius stopped with a terrific EDISON BILBAO" src="/images/msoccer/2005/11/3/10-17-05%20Edison%20Bilbao%205.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>leaning save. However, that miss set up the tying goal, and Bilbao drilled a one-timer off a right wing corner kick from freshman midfielder CRISTHIAN ACUNA (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) at 41:19. The goal was Bilbao’s sixth and Acuna’s eighth assist.

 

Less than two minutes later, Zuniga gave NJCU a 2-1 cushion heading into the half. After a Rosenthal breakaway on the right wing was stopped by Kasperavicius, Zuniga was there for the goalmouth rebound, and immediately banged in his fifth goal of the season at 43:58. The assist allowed Rosenthal to extend his single-season school record to 14. Zuniga left the game afterwards with an injury suffered on the shot, playing only 5:24 overall.

 

NJCU outshot the Lions in the first half, 14-10. However, that changed in the second half, and the Lions had a 12-5 shots edge in period two. The Lions evened the game at 2-2 just 4:06 into the second half as junior midfielder Michael Ferber (New City, NY/Clarkstown North) rifled a shot into the upper left corner at 49:06, off a chip into the box from Connor and sophomore midfielder Joe McGinley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford). It was his fourth goal of the year.

 

TCNJ, which has won 16 NJAC titles in its history, scored the decisive goal 7:13 later as Langan, who has scored all three of his goals this season against NJCU, headed a McGinley cross inside the left corner at 56:19. Of Langan’s six career goals, four have come against NJCU.

 

Sophomore keeper BRUCE NEVES (Newark, NJ/Hudson Catholic) made a season high 10 saves in defeat, including a terrific stop on the left wing at 52:02 to keep the deficit at one. Kasperavicius recorded eight saves for the Lions.

 

In a physical game that featured 34 combined fouls, eight yellow cards, and one red, NJCU suffered a key loss when junior sweeper ANTHONY FLORES (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) was forced out of the game with a gash to his forehead at 68:05. Meanwhile, sophomore forward JULIO GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) was issued a red card at 84:40, forcing the Knights to play one man short in the final 5:20 of action.