New Jersey City University Athletics

 

NEWARK, NJ…New Jersey City University junior center midfielder JONATHAN BILBAO (Carteret, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) buried a penalty kick into the left side of the net in the 79^th minute and freshman keeper #ANDRE VIOLA# (Clifton, NJ/St. Joseph’s Regional (Montvale)) stopped six shots to register his sixth shutout of the season as the Gothic Knights edged Rutgers-Newark, 1-0, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men’s soccer game under the lights Wednesday night at Alumni Field. NJCU outshot the Raiders, 19-11, in front of the crowd of 247.

 

NJCU (12-3-0, 5-1-0 NJAC) wins for the fourth consecutive game and ninth time in 10 outings, to remain in a tie for first place in the conference, while setting up a showdown with Montclair State University—a rematch of the 2006 NJAC championship game—on Saturday, October 13 at 1 p.m. Sole possession of first place in the league will be on the line in that game. The Knights win five games in the NJAC for the third consecutive year to tie the single-season program record, with three league games remaining.

 

Newark fell to 8-6-1 overall and 0-5-0 in the league with the loss. NJCU leads the all-time series, 18-14-1, with its 10^th consecutive win against the Scarlet Raiders. Notably, the contest marked the first time NJCU has met former head coach Kevin East, the winningest coach in Gothic Knight history with 123 victories, since he took over the Rutgers-Newark program in January.

 

At 78:18, freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Frances (Chandler, AZ/Hamilton) was issued a yellow card after taking Bilbao down in the box as the last man. The junior co-captain calmly drilled the ensuing penalty kick into the lower left side of the net for his sixth goal of the year. Bilbao is now a perfect 3-for-3 in career penalty kick. This was his first in regulation; the other two came in shootout rounds of post-season tournaments.

 

Bilbao’s goal stood up, thanks to solid work by Viola in net in the final minutes. He smothered two shots by Raider rookie forward Estiven Benetiz (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills) in the 89^th minute. Frances also made six saves, including two solid scoring chances.

 

The contest was physical with 36 combined fouls whistled between the two clubs—24 against Newark. NJCU outshot Newark in the first half, 10-5, and 9-6 in the second period.