PURCHASE, NY…Seven years after the tragic events of September 11, 2001,
ROBERT BIELAN, a man who was one of countless numbers of heroic emergency responders conducting search efforts following the attacks on the World Trade Center, finally has a positive memory associated with the date.
Bielan, in only his third season as head coach of the
New Jersey City University women's soccer team, became the winningest coach in program history on Thursday night as his Gothic Knights defeated SUNY-Purchase, 5-1. NJCU remains undefeated at 4-0, continuing the best start to a season in school history.
Meanwhile, sophomore forward
JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) notched her third hat trick in four games this season, for the 34
th, 35
th and 36
th goals of her career in just her 22
nd game, and became the all-time leading goal scorer in the 16-year history of the program.
The win for Bielan was the 14th of his coaching career in only 40 games and gives NJCU an 11-11 record over the last 22 games he has guided the program. Bielan passes Mike Lyons, who coached in 1993 and 1994 and was 13-17, on the all-time list.
While the total number of victories itself is not a huge number, what it signifies is. In an era where the NJCU athletics program has collectively become very successful and enjoyed some of its most pronounced successes, women's soccer had remained the Knights' least successful program. That all changed in 2006 when Bielan became head coach and began to build the program from the ground up, and most specifically since the start of the 2007 season.
On September 11, 2001,
Bielan, a professional firefighter by trade in Bayonne, NJ, conducted search and rescue efforts at Ground Zero, alongside his brothers from the Bayonne Fire Department. On September 11, 2008, an emotional
Bielan was happy to share a positive moment with his other team—his NJCU Gothic Knights.
“These women all knew what this game, on this day, meant to me, and they said they would not lose this one,” Bielan said. “They knew what a tough day it was for me, as well as every other firefighter across this nation. They all collectively got together and said we're doing this for our coach and our program and we're going to fill the void of today with a good memory.”
It was also a special day for
Albuja, this week's New
Jersey Athletic Conference and Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Region Player of the Week. She scored the first, second and fourth goals of the game and by doing so, broke the career program record of 33 goals set by current assistant coach KATIE FEEHAN (Manasquan, NJ) in a four-year career from 2004-07. Albuja also broke Feehan's school record with her seventh game-winning goal.
Now with a staggering 12 goals in four games this year, Albuja has moved into second place in school history with 78 career points, passing Carine Carvalheiro (2001, 2003-05, 77 points). Feehan owns the record with 92 points. Albuja now has 11 multiple-goal games and six hat tricks in her career.
“Every once in a while you are fortunate to either play with or coach an amazing athlete like her and anyone who is around her feels her greatness on the field,” Bielan noted about Albuja, the 2007 NJAC Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-Conference selection. “She is a natural goal scorer and a warrior on the field. And before today's game, knowing what today meant to me, she told me she would put a few goals in for me.”
Freshman forward
NICOLE SARICA (Linden, NJ/Linden) netted two more goals for the Knights, giving her five in the first four games of her career.
Freshman forward
ABIE MUSA (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) contributed to each of
Albuja's first two goals, including the record-breaker, for her second and third assists of the season. Junior defender
JESSICA IRIZARRY (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy), sophomore defender
ASHLEY WELCH (Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Memorial) and freshman defender
MICHELLE Da SILVA (Union, NJ/Union) each added their first assists and points of the season; it was
da Silva's first career point.
When asked what the coaching victories record itself meant to him, Bielan said: “It shows that a dedicated coaching staff surrounded by the right, dedicated players, can change the culture of a program, especially when people told me this program couldn't be successful. Being 4-0 on the season and overcoming the past is sweet and makes all the meals missed with my family when I was out recruiting or training our players worth it.”
Albuja, who entered the game tied with Feehan with 33 career goals, broke the record just 4:58 into the contest. Musa sent a cross from the right side, where Albuja fired a shot that was initially saved by the Panthers, before she immediately knocked in the rebound, for her record 34th tally.
Albuja added a second goal at 18:55 when Musa pushed a thru ball into the box which Albuja rifled in. Sarica made it a 3-0 lead at halftime with her goal at 35:28. Welch beat a defender, slid a thru ball onto the top of the box, which Sarica ran onto for a breakaway goal.
Albuja's third goal of the game was perhaps the nicest. At 57:04, da Silva aired out a free kick from 50 yards away, right to Albuja, who turned and fired—all in one motion—for a 4-0 lead.
Purchase freshman
Shannon Ruiz (Rockaway Park, NY/Midwood) snapped the shutout bid at 60:21 when she lofted a high shot from 35 yards that snuck in over leaping NJCU sophomore keeper
KELLY REILLY (Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Memorial) who made seven saves while registering her 11
th career win.
Sarica concluded the scoring at 85:46 as Irizarry slipped a thru ball to her outside the box, setting up another breakaway.
NJCU outshot the Panthers (1-3), 20-9, and now lead the all-time series, 2-0, with an 8-1 goal differential. Purchase sophomore keeper Stephanie Janasiewicz (Kingston, NY/Kingston Senior) made 11 saves in defeat.
NJCU will open its 2008 home schedule on Saturday, September 13 at 1 p.m. when it meets Medgar Evers College for the second time in a week, at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. NJCU defeated the Cougars, 10-1, during the Scarlet Raider Women's Soccer Classic on September 6.
Summing up his thoughts after the victory, Bielan said: “Seven years ago I thought my life was over, because my wife, then my fiancé, took the N-train under the World Train Center, and for hours I thought that I lost her. Today, we're fortunate enough to have two beautiful children and a great family, but I know there were so many families changed forever seven years ago. As the head coach at NJCU, I'm pleased to bring quality athletes and scholars to this University. These women knew where my thoughts were today, they knew the importance and significance of the day to me, and they played respectfully and brought home the victory.”
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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|
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NJCU
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Purchase
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Score
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5
|
1
|
|
Halftime
|
3
|
0
|
|
Shots
|
20
|
9
|
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Shots On Goal
|
16
|
8
|
|
Saves
|
7
|
11
|
|
Corner Kicks
|
5
|
2
|
|
Fouls
|
12
|
11
|
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Offsides
|
1
|
5
|
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Caution Cards
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2
|
2
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