New Jersey City University Athletics

BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY (NJCU vs. KEAN)

UNION, NJ… Junior midfielder JOHN BERNAL (Totowa, NJ/Inem (Medellin, Colombia) knocked in his first goal of the season with just 2:18 remaining after senior forward CRISTHIAN ACUNA (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) tied the game at 1-1 in the 70^th minute as the New Jersey City University men's soccer team remained unbeaten in seven consecutive games with a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory over Kean University, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest Wednesday night at Kean's Alumni Stadium. It was the 50^th meeting between the clubs since first playing in 1960.

With the win, NJCU, the defending NJAC regular season champions and No. 4 ranked team in the NCAA Division III Metro Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, remained unbeaten in its last seven games, improving to 6-2-1 overall and 2-0-0 in the NJAC. The Gothic Knights join Montclair State University and The College of New Jersey as the only 2-0 teams remaining in the conference standings. 

Kean, ranked No. 7 in the region, dropped to 4-5-1 and 0-2-0 NJAC. While Kean still leads the all-time series, 31-17-2, since 2001 the Knights have dominated the rivalry with a 6-1-1 mark.

NJCU had nearly three times the number of scoring chances as Kean, outshooting their North Jersey rival by a 33-12 margin, including 17-2 on goal. NJCU also had an 8-3 edge in corners. Despite a 16-6 advantage in first half shots, the two clubs were deadlocked at 0-0 at the break.

Kean struck first in the second half, scoring just four minutes into the period as senior midfielder Mark Wallis (New Gretna, NJ/Pinelands) took a feed near the right side of the NJCU net from senior midfielder Thomas Azydzik (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson), knocking in his second goal of the year at 49:06. It was Azydzik's fourth assist.

NJCU had numerous opportunities to even the score following Kean's goal, outshooting the Cougars, 9-2. The Knights finally cashed in with their heavy pressure at 69:02 as senior midfielder MIGUEL FONTAN (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) lifted a cross into the goalmouth from the right endline where Acuna, the 2007 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year, headed home the game-tying tally. It was his 32^nd career goal and 96^th point, including his seventh netter of the year. It was Fontán's second assist of the season.

From there, NJCU continued to apply offensive pressure on Kean, outshooting the hosts 7-1 to close the game, before the winner came at 87:42. After a Kean foul gave NJCU a free kick near the right corner flag, senior midfielder JONATHAN BILBAO (Carteret, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep) sent a cross into the box where Bernal used a sliding kick to bury the game-winner and unleash celebration from his teammates. The assist was the fourth of the year for Bilbao and the 26^th of his career, moving into a tie for fourth place in program history.

Sophomore keeper ANDRE VIOLA (Clifton, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional (Montvale)) made one save to preserve the win for NJCU. In defeat, Kean sophomore keeper Alfredo Oquendo (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) record a career-high 14 saves; the Cougars also had a team save. 

NJCU will be back in action on Saturday, September 27 at 1 p.m. when it hosts Rutgers-Newark, the No. 8 ranked team in the region, in an NJAC match at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. It will be NJCU's first home game against former head coach Kevin East, who led the program from 1998-2006 before becoming coach of the Scarlet Raiders.