Box Score BOX SCORE
NJAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
POMONA, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In New Jersey City University's first-ever appearance in the New JerseyAthletic Conference Tournament, junior goalkeeper LAURA ROBINSON (Edison, NJ/Edison) registered 12 brilliant, non-routine saves and a Gothic Knight defense led by junior JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) kept the quarterfinal match against Richard Stockton College scoreless for more than 81 minutes before the Ospreys struck midway through the 82nd minute and edged NJCU, 1-0, in the NJAC Quarterfinals on Saturday at G. Larry James Stadium.
Fifth-seeded NJCU entered its first NJAC Tournament winner of two straight and five of six overall, and with the loss falls to 14-7 overall. The Knights will await a likely second straight bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament; those pairings will be announced on Monday, November 8.
Fourth-seeded Stockton (12-6-2) was hosting an NJAC Tournament game for the seventh straight year and extends its winning streak to four. The Ospreys, which lead the all-time series, 17-0, advance to meet defending NJAC champion and top-seeded The College of New Jersey in the NJAC semifinals.
Stockton outshot NJCU, 25-9. The Ospreys put 14 shots on goal but could not find a way to beat Robinson, who posted her second highest save total of the season. Albuja played a full 90 minutes at sweeper and made one team save. Junior defenders MARGIE ALFANO (Randolph, NJ/West Orange) and NICOLE SARICA (Linden, NJ/Linden) also played a full 90 minutes in the back and eliminated many potential scoring chances.
In a noticeably physical game, NJCU had four of its top five scorers and five different starters miss part of the match with injuries suffered during the contest, including 25-goal scoring junior forward JULIA CASERES (Union, NJ/Union), who led the team with three shots (two on goal). Sophomore forward ASHLEY CUNHA (Edison, NJ/Edison) had two shots—both on goal—but missed the final 46 minutes of the game with an injury suffered at the end of the first half.
The Knights were accurate with their nine shots, putting eight of the nine opportunities on goal. But freshman keeper Sarah Hinkle (Mullica Hill, NJ/Paul VI) made eight saves for the Ospreys—her third shutout in the last four games and fourth overall.
Robinson had a personal shutout streak of 268:05 snapped when Stockton scored its lone goal at the 81:33 mark of the second half—a mere 25 seconds shy of the school record of 268:30 achieved from September 26-October 11, 1995. She made nine of her 12 saves in the second half when Stockton had a 17-3 edge in shots.
In a tense back-and-forth contest, Stockton finally broke through as sophomore midfielder Rachel Carlson (Mullica Township, NJ/Oakcrest) drove up the near right sideline, dribbled to the endline and sent a pass across the goal mouth where senior forward Leah Pocoroba (Galloway, NJ/Holy Spirit) netted her 13th marker of the season inside the left post for the only goal of the playoff contest. The assist was Carlson's second of the season.
NJCU had several solid scoring chances in the final two minutes off a pair of corner kicks, but were unable to force overtime.
In the first half, Stockton had an 8-6 shots advantage but the Knights held a 5-4 margin in shots on goal. Caseres had a shot stopped by Hinkle in the 6th and 15th minute before freshman midfielder ALEXIS FREES (Linden, NJ/Linden)—another starter who was forced off the field with an injury—had a chance in the 20th minute that was also set aside. Cunha had a pair of shots stopped by Hinkle in the 23rd and 33rd minutes.
Albuja's defensive team save came at 31:44 on a shot by junior midfielder Brianna DeStefano (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown)—blasting away a one-timer in the goalmouth. The game was scoreless at halftime.
Nearly every one of Robinson's saves were outstanding, as she made countless diving, acrobatic stops and thwarted other chances when she cleared balls from opposing players in the box—plays that are not reflected in the statistics.
Pocoroba had four shots for the Ospreys—three on goal—and senior forward Samantha Bean (Manchester, NJ/Manchester Township) had a game-high five shots (two on goal). Sophomore midfielder Jessica McQuillen (Tabernacle, NJ/Seneca) had three shots—all on goal.
Sophomore midfielder CHELSEA SPETHMANN (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights-Wood Ridge) missed some time after being injured in the contest, as did junior center midfielder KATLIN VARGO (Edison, NJ/Union Catholic). Both players were able to re-enter and help the Knights maintain ball control in the midfield with contributions from junior ERICA BUONACQUISTA (Aberdeen, NJ/Bayonne). Spethmann had a shot saved at 50:48 of the second half.
Sophomore forward GABRIELLE CLARKE (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) played extended time off the bench with the injuries and had a solid opportunity to put NJCU on the board blocked by Hinkle on the left post at 80:24. Vargo unleashed a shot that was saved at 84:53 before her two corner kicks in the final two minutes were unable to be converted.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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STOCKTON
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Score
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0
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1
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Halftime
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0
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0
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Shots
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9
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25
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Shots On Goal
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8
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14
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Saves
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13
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8
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Corner Kicks
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4
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3
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Fouls
|
10
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7
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Offsides
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0
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5
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Caution Cards
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0
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0
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