New Jersey City University Athletics

 

MONTCLAIR, NJ…New Jersey City University freshman striker JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) scored her conference-leading 20^th and 21^st goals of the season for the Gothic Knights, including the game-tying goal in the second half, but NJCU’s upset bid fell short as Montclair State University rallied for a 3-2 victory in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game played Saturday at Sprague Field.

 

With the win, MSU improves to 6-7-1 overall but 5-2-0 in NJAC play. NJCU dropped its second game in a row and falls two games below .500 for the first time this season (6-8-0, 0-6-0 NJAC). MSU leads the all-time series, 13-1, winning its 12^th straight meeting. MSU outshot NJCU 15-2 in each period, finishing with a 30-4 advantage.

 

Albuja now has single-season records of 21 goals and 44 points. The 21 goals are the second most by a men’s or women’s player in school history, passing former men’s player Juan Espinoza (19 goals, 2005) on the all-time list. All-American Chris Rosenthal scored 25 times for the NJCU men in 2004.

 

Albuja also moved into fourth place in NJCU women’s career history with 44 points, passing Marie Merilus (2000-03, 43 points). Albuja has scored in 10 of 14 games this season for the Knights.

 

KATIE FEEHAN" src="/images/wsoccer/2007/10/13/10-01-07%20Katie%20Feehan%202.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>NJCU grad student midfielder KATIE FEEHAN (Manasquan, NJ/Wall) notched her ninth assist of the year on the game-tying goal, to tie Carine Carvalheiro’s single-season record set in 2005. Feehan extended her program career records with 24 assists and 84 points.

 

MSU freshman forward Christyn Scillieri (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) scored a pair of second-half goals to provide the winning margin for the Red Hawks. Freshman Liza Offreda (East Rutherford, NJ/Midland Park) collected two assists in the second half.

 

Albuja put NJCU ahead 1-0 at 15:05 of the first half. After falling on the turf after receiving a pass and battling with a Montclair full back, she scrambled to her feet, split two defenders and ripped a bullet under the middle of the crossbar. The shot was so fast, MSU sophomore goalkeeper Leah Tepperman (North Andover, MA/North Andover) did not have time to react.

 

Montclair would even the game five minutes later as sophomore forward Natalia Sisti (Lincoln Park, NJ/DePaul) registered her eighth goal of the season off a pass from Scillieri at 20:04 of the period. It remained deadlocked at 1-1 at the half.

 

In the second half, MSU would take the lead 1:22 into the half. Off a corner kick, Offreda served a perfect ball into the front of the net where Sisti received the pass and flicked the ball onto the toe of Scillieri, who banged home the shot just under the crossbar for her sixth goal of the year at 46:22.

 

The MSU lead would be short-lived as the Gothic Knights struck back 79 seconds later. Feehan dribbled past several players, before finding Albuja open on the left wing from 40 yards out. There, Albuja dribbled to the top of the box and cranked a left-footed shot that curved into the upper left corner of the goal at 47:41.

 

But Scillieri would give Montclair the lead for good with her second of the game at the 51:59 mark. Offreda dribbled the ball down the right side before right-footing a cross toward the back post where Scillieri headed in the go-ahead goal for a 3-2 edge. MSU later hit the crossbar, but there were no other dangerous scoring plays for either team.

 

NJCU freshman keeper KELLY REILLY (Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Memorial) made nine saves in defeat. Tepperman did not tally a stop for MSU.

 

NJCU returns to action on Monday, October 15 at 4 p.m. when it faces Penn State-Berks in a non-conference game in Reading, PA.