New Jersey City University Athletics

 

LANCASTER, PA…Sophomore striker JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) opened the 2008 season the way she performed as a freshman—as an unstoppable goal scorer. Albuja notched her fourth career hat trick and her fifth career game-winner, scoring the first, third, and fourth goals for New Jersey City University, as the Gothic Knights took leads of 3-1 and 4-2, before holding off Lancaster Bible College, 4-3, in the 2008 season opener for NJCU on Tuesday afternoon.

 

It was the first-ever meeting between the schools in women’s soccer. NJCU is 1-0; LBC which played two games over the weekend, drops to 1-2.

 

Freshman forward NICOLE SARICA (Linden, NJ/Linden) also had a notable career debut, scoring once while supplying two assists. Senior midfielder MEGAN MURPHY (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) also tallied an assist.

 

For Albuja who quickly climbed towards the top of NJCU’s all-time records lists when she scored 24 goals as a freshman in 2007, the three-goal surge was her ninth career multiple-goal game and gives her 27 career markers in just 19 games—one shy of equaling Carine Carvalheiro (2001, 03-05) for second place in school history.

 

The Chargers struck first when sophomore forward Becka Hixson (Coopersburg, PA), who scored twice in the game, found the corner of the net from 18 yards out 9:13 into the first half off an assisted thru ball from freshman Kristina Clairmont (Dublin, PA).

 

That lead stood for just over 11 minutes before NJCU uncorked the first of three consecutive goals at 20:14. Murphy aired out a cross from the right corner before Albuja outleaped LBC sophomore goalkeeper Kirsten Shoemaker (Cochranville, PA), heading in her first goal of the year for a 1-1 tie. The clubs were knotted at 1-1 at halftime.

 

Less than three minutes into the second half, NJCU took the lead for good as Sarica dribbled past a defender, and rifled a hard left-footed shot from 18 yards out for a 2-1 edge at 47:50.

 

At 63:40, Albuja delivered again. Sarica fed a pass to Albuja near the top of the box, which she fired into the upper right corner, over the leaping keeper, for a 3-1 margin.

 

At 83:14, sophomore defender Meredith Wrightson (Silver Springs, MD) cut the lead to 3-2 as she added her second goal of the year with just 6:46 remaining in regulation off a breakaway pass from Clairmont, who contributed two assists for the Chargers.

 

But Albuja answered just 48 seconds later with her third goal of the game, and what proved to be the eventual game-winner, as Sarica slid a thru ball to the striker, leading to a breakaway goal. Albuja slipped a shot on the ground past Shoemaker for the winner at 84:02.

 

LBC kept it interesting with 4:13 left when Hixson scored her second of the game off a feed from freshman defender Ashley Lanser (Lancaster, PA), before NJCU sealed the 4-3 victory, allowing just one more shot the rest of the game.

 

Sophomore keeper KELLY REILLY (Pennsville, NJ/Pennsville Memorial) made eight saves in 61:06 of net time to earn the win, allowing one goal. Junior DANIELLE BARKER (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) saw her first time in goal for NJCU, making one save over the final 28:54 of action. Shoemaker made 10 stops for LBC. NJCU outshot the Chargers, 32-19 and had an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.

 

The Knights return to action on Friday, September 5 at 4 p.m. when it meets The College of Staten Island in the opening round of the Scarlet Raiders Women’s Soccer Classic hosted by Rutgers-Newark at Alumni Field in Newark.