New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Senior forward MARCELO CARPIO (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), junior forward CRISTHIAN ACUNA (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) and junior midfielder JONATHAN BILBAO (Carteret, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) combined for three goals, and New Jersey City University received a career-high eight saves from freshman keeper ANDRE VIOLA (Clifton, NJ/St. Joseph’s Regional (Montvale)), as the first place Gothic Knights opened a season at 4-0-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the first time in the 49-history of the program, defeating Kean University, 3-1.

 

With the win, NJCU (8-2-0, 4-0-0 NJAC) wins its fifth consecutive game and eighth in nine games since dropping the season opener. NJCU also improved to 43-7-1 at home at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field over the last four seasons. Kean fell to 4-5-0 overall and 2-2-0 in league play. NJCU is unbeaten against Kean in the last five meetings, winning four times.

 

NJCU held a slim edge in total shots, 14-12, and only had four on goal, but made the most of those opportunities, scoring on three chances.

 

NJCU opened a 1-0 lead at 21:19 when Bilbao dished a thru ball across the top of the box from the right wing. On the left wing he found Carpio, who was able to slip a one-timer under diving Kean senior keeper Kyle Crego (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City), and into the right side of the net. It was Carpio’s seventh goal of the season and 20^th of his three-year NJCU career. Bilbao earned his sixth assist.

 

Just over six and half minutes later, Acuna, who has been named the NJAC and ECAC Metro Offensive Player of the Week in two straight weeks, continued his timely scoring, as he netted NJCU’s game-winning goal for the third consecutive outing. At 27:51, he gained possession from the Kean defense, beat two defenders onto the left wing and drilled a shot on a difficult angle just inside the right post. It was his 10^th goal of the season and gives him 18 points in his last five games, and 72 for his career, two shy of fourth place on the career list. NJCU led 2-0 at the half, with a 6-3 shots advantage.

 

The Knights’ offense, which ranks eighth in goals per game among 380 Division III schools, tallied yet another winner at 60:50. Bilbao received a feed from the right wing into the box, where he buried a shot into the left corner for his fifth goal of the year. The assist was Carpio’s first of the season as he delivered the thru ball to set-up NJCU’s 3-0 lead.

 

Kean’s only goal came at 79:40 when senior forward Anthony Tuesta (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) was awarded a penalty kick. Viola made a diving stop on the right post to thwart the penalty kick, but Tuesta gobbled up the rebound and tapped it in for his seventh goal of the year. He has nearly half of the Cougars’ 15 goals this season.

 

The game was physical, with a combined 48 fouls whistled between the clubs, and nine cautions. Tuesta received a red card at 85:26, as Kean played the final 4:34 a man down. Crego did not make a save in three chances. Freshman Alfredo Oquendo (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) stopped one shot in the final 29:10 of the game.

 

NJCU is back in action on Saturday, September 29 at 1 p.m. when it visits Richard Stockton College in an NJAC game in Pomona, NJ. Kean hosts Ramapo College at the same time.