NJCU (7-2-0, 2-1-0 NJAC) has won two in a row, seven of its last eight, and 14 of 16 dating to the 2004 season, with five shutouts in its last six games. Camden is also 7-2-0 and 2-1-0 in the NJAC. Camden leads the all-time series, 14-8-4.
It was NJCU’s fifth win over a Top 25 team since
KEVIN EAST became head coach in 1998, and the second this month, after defeating then No. 6 ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on September 10. NJCU, currently seventh in the region, was itself 16
th in the nation on September 13 before falling out of the national poll.
The five-goal margin— NJCU’s second highest in any NJAC game in the last 18 seasons— matched the 5-0 final which then-Jersey City State College posted against then-William Paterson College on October 3, 1988. The only larger scoring margin in a conference game was 9-0 over Rutgers University-Newark on October 4, 2003.
The game proved historic for
Rosenthal, who was fourth in the nation with 25 goals last year, but has been hampered by injuries throughout the first eight games of the season. He posted five points to tie
ADRIAN RUIZ (Fairview, NJ) with 86 career points for the all-time scoring lead in school history. The second goal was the 36
th for
Rosenthal in 43 career games, and leaves him one shy of the long-standing career goal-scoring record of 37 established by NJCU Hall-of-Famer
Ken Holzschuh from 1968-71.
After nearly 36 minutes of scoreless soccer,
East added
Bilbao as a sub at 35:41. Just 24 seconds,
![<dfn><a href=]()
JUAN ESPINOZA" src="/images/msoccer/2005/9/25/09-11-05%20Juan%20Espinoza%2018.jpg" width=150 align=right border=0>the move paid dividends.
Bilbao took a pass from junior midfielder
CHRIS PALUMBO (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood) and blasted a line-drive knuckle-ball shot from the deep left wing that slipped just inside the right post at 36:05. It was his first collegiate goal and
Palumbo’s first assist.
Freshman forward
JUAN ESPINOZA (New Brunswick, NJ/Buen Pastor (Lima, Peru)), who is featured in the September 26 issue of
Sports Illustrated, was not affected by the S.I. jinx, as he added his team-leading seventh goal of the season at 39:43, as he accepted a
Rosenthal cross on the right wing and flipped a nifty shot inside the right post. It was
Rosenthal’s second assist of the season and allowed NJCU to take a 2-0 halftime lead, despite being outshot in the period, 10-9.
Rosenthal scored his first goal of a tough, early few weeks to the season, when he stole a pass at 59:11 and nailed an unassisted shot from the left wing into the right side for a 3-0 edge.
Bilbao added his second goal of the game at 62:03 when he also swiped a pass, and rifled a shot
![<dfn><a href=]()
JONATHAN BILBAO" src="/images/msoccer/2005/9/25/09-11-05%20Jonathan%20Bilbao%203.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>from the left wing into the right side of the net.
After
Espinoza rocketed a shot off left post from 20 yards out on the left wing at 72:40, and
Rosenthal hit the same post at 86:12, the senior striker proved he is back on track when he notched his record-equaling goal with 1:05 remaining. He took a long pass from sophomore defender
SCOTT MODZELEWSKI (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) from his own half of the field and drove a bullet inside the left post at 88:55.
Sophomore goalkeeper
BRUCE NEVES (Newark, NJ/Hudson Catholic) stopped six shots to record his fourth shutout of the season and improve to 7-1 overall. He now has five shutouts in 13 career starts. The shutout was NJCU’s fifth of the season and the Gothic Knight defense, which includes junior
RONNIE SANCHEZ (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), junior
ANTHONY FLORES (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), sophomore
MIKE McCORMICK (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), and
Modzelewski, has not allowed a goal in a span of 195:26.
McCormick, also known for his.467 baseball batting average last spring, which ranked sixth in the country, demonstrated some of his defensive soccer skills when he made a terrific team save on the right post at 70:33, to preserve the shutout, off a shot by Camden senior midfielder Devin Burgin (Pennsauken, NJ/Bishop Eustace). Neves also made a terrific first half save of a Burgin shot, which he leaped to tip over the crossbar. It was one of three shots Neves saved in that fashion; Camden also struck a post.
Junior keeper David Cunningham (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern) started for Camden, and made three saves while allowing three goals in 62:06. Sophomore Brent Grunow (Estell Manor, NJ/Buena Regional) allowed two goals with one save in 27:54 of second half action.
NJCU outshot the Raptors in the second half, 8-3, and 17-13 overall, while RC held a 10-8 edge in corners. There were six cards issues in the game, including a red card against Camden with 7:40 remaining.
NJCU is back in action on Wednesday, September 28 at 4 p.m. when it hosts Montclair State University in a NJAC contest at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. The Knights will be seeking their first win over the Red Hawks since 1986. Since then, MSU is 18-0-1 in the last 19 games, with five straight victories in the series.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
