New Jersey City University Athletics

BOX SCORE

JERSEY CITY, NJ…New Jersey City University was 3:57 from its first New Jersey Athletic Conference win of the season before Ramapo College tied it to force overtime, and then scored 4:43 into the first extra period on its third straight corner kick attempt as the Roadrunners rallied to defeat NJCU, 3-2, in an NJAC contest at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. The second half and overtime was played in a steady rain.

In defeat, sophomore striker JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken), the Division III national leader in points per game, scoring her 20^th goal of the season and in doing so, became the all-time leading scorer in program history with 94 points in only her 28^th career game. Now with 44 goals and six assists, her 94 points eclipses the record of 92 points she had shared with current assistant coach KATIE FEEHAN (Manasquan, NJ). Feehan set the mark in a four-year career from 2004-07.

NJCU, despite being without the services of five starters due to injury, held a 2-1 lead in the game. Ramapo had a 23-15 advantage in shots.

Ramapo (4-4-1, 2-2-0 NJAC) snaps its two-game losing streak, while moving to .500 overall and in the league. NJCU (6-4) drops its fourth straight game following a 6-0 start to the year. Ramapo leads the all-time series, 14-1-1. NJCU fell to 2-8-6 all-time in overtime games.

Senior midfielder Shana Egan (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) forced overtime on an unassisted goal with 3:57 left before sophomore midfielder Melanie Pupo (Newton, NJ/Morris Catholic)—on her third consecutive corner kick attempt from the right endline—found freshman defender Erica Kunzig (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) on the left post at 94:43, where she gathered and knocked in the winner.

Ramapo gained a 1-0 lead at 15:29 of the first half when junior defender Mallory Cornett (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) slid a long thru ball up the middle in the Roadrunners' offensive third, creating a breakaway in the box for sophomore forward Melissa Demko (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick), scoring her team-best sixth goal of the year. The assist was Cornett's first.

In a first half where RCNJ outshot NJCU 15-5, it was Albuja who tied it at 20:02 with her historic goal. The speedy All-Conference standout swiped the ball from a Ramapo defender, and from the close right wing angled a one-timer into the left side of the net. The game was tied at the half.

Another defensive mistake by the Roadrunners led to NJCU seizing a 2-1 lead on Ramapo at 54:28. Sophomore midfielder JUANITA SARRIA (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow) applied offensive pressure at the top of the box, causing two RCNJ defenders to collide. Sarria charged ahead on a breakaway. Her first shot was stopped by Ramapo junior keeper Jessica DaRold (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) but Sarria slammed home the rebound for her sixth goal of the year.

NJCU had its chances to extend the lead from that point, outshooting the visitors 8-6 in the second half. But at 86:03, as NJCU tried to run out the clock, Egan dribbled up the entire right wing, and from 15 yards out, angled a shot into the left of the net to tie the contest at 2-2.

NJCU nearly regained the lead at 87:03, when Albuja put a vicious header on net off a cross from the left endline from freshman midfielder NICOLE SARICA (Linden, NJ/Linden), before DaRold made a game-saving stop. Sarria had another chance to put NJCU ahead at 88:32, when her wide-open shot in the box was blocked after an RCNJ defender went down.

In overtime, the shots were even, 2-2, with the Knights uncorking two solid chances in the first 1:07 of the extra session. Finally, Ramapo, which had an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks, capitalized. After the first two corner attempts from Pupo were cleared, her third try set up Kunzig for her first career goal at 94:43, as Ramapo prevailed, 3-2. The assist was the sixth of the season for Pupo.

NJCU sophomore keeper KELLY REILLY (Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Memorial) played solidly for the Knights with eight saves, including six in the first half. DaRold made five stops for RCNJ.

NJCU will return to action on Saturday, October 4 at 1 p.m. when it hosts former nationally #1 ranked The College of New Jersey in an NJAC game. Ramapo hosts #17 Rowan University at the same time.