New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES
DIRECTIONS TO GAELIC PARK (ECAC Semifinals site)

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University women's soccer team is heading to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Semifinals for the second time in its history, and its two most accomplished players of all-time achieved significant history in the process. Senior striker JULIA CASERES (Union, NJ/Union) had two goals and one assist, including the 100^th goal of her career, while senior striker JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) netted a first-half hat trick to reach 200 career points and the 'A-C Connection' became the all-time leading scoring combination in NCAA Division III history with 443 combined points as NJCU routed the College of Staten Island, 6-0, in an ECAC Division III Metro Quarterfinal game played on Wednesday at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
 
NJCU (14-7) equaled the single-season record for victories with 14, matching the mark set in 2009—the last time the Gothic Knights reached the ECAC semifinals. Staten Island, the 2011 CUNYAC champions, which had a 7-1-1 record in its last nine games, ends the season with a 13-5-1 mark. NJCU leads the all-time series, 7-1 (35-10 goals differential) and have won the last five meetings, outscoring the Dolphins 29-3 in that span.
 
It was the second meeting of the season between the two schools in the 'Bayonne Bridge Series'. NJCU also won 5-2 on September 13. It was the first-ever meeting in the post-season as NJCU improved to 2-1-1 all-time in playoff action. NJCU outshot CSI, 32-10, including 16-3 in the second half, and had an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.
 
NJCU advances to the ECAC semifinals where it will play top-seeded New York University (12-6-0) on Saturday, November 12 at 1 p.m. at Gaelic Park on the campus of Manhattan College in Riverdale, NY. It will be only the second meeting ever between the schools.
 
Albuja scored the first, second and third goals of the game for her third hat trick of the season and 13^th of her career  and added one assist for a seven-point game. She became the first player to score 200 career points only at NJCU, notching her 22^nd, 23^rd and 24^th goals of the season and 88^th, 89^th and 90^th of her career. She now has 201 career points becoming the 33^rd player in Division III history with 200 career points and 25^th to score at least 90 goals.
 
Caseres scored the fourth and fifth goals of the game—her 21^st and 22^nd of the season and 99^th and 100^th of her career—and assisted on the game winner, to become the 16^th player in Division III history to reach the century mark. She moved into a share of 12^th place in Division III history with 242 career points (100 goals, 42 assists) in a four-year career at NJCU (2009-11) and Rutgers-Newark (2008).
 
Albuja and Caseres entered the game with 431 career points—second in Division III history. The tandem combined for 12 points in the win—five goals and two assists—and become the all-time leading goal-scoring combination in the history of NCAA Division III soccer with 443 points and 190 goals. The previous record of 432 points (165 goals, 102 assists) had been set by Jennifer Russell and Karen Carney of Kalamazoo College from 1989-1993.
 
Also for NJCU, freshman goalkeeper BRITTANY HOFFMAN (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) made four saves to register her seventh shutout of the season and 14^th win.  She established a single-season school record for goalkeeper victories, topping the mark of 13 set last year by LAURA ROBINSON. She also equaled the single-season mark for shutouts first accomplished in 2007 by Kelly Reilly.
 
Senior defensive midfielder ERICA BUONACQUISTA (Aberdeen, NJ/Bayonne) scored the final goal for NJCU—her second of the season and sixth of her career.
 
The fifth and sixth goals of the game by Caseres and Buonacquista came at 79:06 and 79:22, respectively. Separated by just 16 seconds, the two goals were the third fastest consecutive goals on record in school history.
 
Senior forward MARGIE ALFANO (Randolph, NJ/West Orange), junior midfielder AMANDA SPETHMANN (Wood-Ridge, NJ/Hasbrouck Heights—Wood-Ridge), sophomore defender/midfielder KARLA REYES-ABRIL (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and rookie defender DEVON WILLIAMS (Neptune City, NJ/Neptune) each contributed assists in the win. Spethmann's assist was her seventh; Reyes-Abril tallied her fourth and Alfano and Williams each chalked up their third assist.
 
Rookie sweeper JANINE CASALE (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley), senior defender NICOLE SARICA (Linden, NJ/Linden) and Williams helped limit the Dolphins to four shots on goal.
 
Albuja had seven shots for NJCU (four on goal) and Caseres matched her with seven attempts. Buonacquista had four shots and Sarica had three attempts. Albuja and Caseres, the New Jersey Athletic Conference scoring leaders, both notched their conference-leading 11^th assists of the season.
 
Staten Island freshman Samantha Wysokowski (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph Hill) made seven saves for the Dolphins. Sophomore forward Demi-Kean Martorano (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) have five of the visitors 10 shots.
 
“It is an amazing achievement to be able to score 100 goals and not many people have achieved this milestone in their career,” said Caseres about the career milestone. “I would not have been able to do this without my amazing teammates. Their hard work helped me achieve this and I am glad to have been able to accomplish this milestone with this group of girls. They are one of a kind and made my senior year memorable.”
 
NJCU led 4-0 at halftime, scoring all four within the first 26 minutes of action. It took just 3:16 of play for the Knights to get on the board. Spethmann launched a long throw in from the right sideline into the box. There, Caseres flicked a header pass to the left post and Albuja stuck a shot inside the pipe at the 3:16 mark before Wysokowski, who dove and got her hands on the ball, could block the chance away. The goal was the 17^th career game-winner for Albuja as the 'A-C Connection' generated their record-breaking 434^th career points.
 
Albuja made it 2-0 in the 17^th minute. Williams played a ball into the box from the middle of the field, 30 yards out, and Albuja ran onto the pass before firing a shot inside the left post at 16:49.
 
Two goals in a span of 1:31 turned the game into a rout. At 24:37, Reyes-Abril played a pass into the box from the middle and Albuja chipped a shot inside the left post from 18 yards.
 
Then at 26:08, the Knights scored a pretty goal as Alfano chipped a pass into the box onto the feet of Caseres. With Wysokowski racing off her line, Caseres side-stepped the approaching keeper, somehow maintained her balance and stayed on her feet and kept the ball from rolling over the left endline, before chipping a shot into the net on a tough angle.
 
Caseres' record-setting goal was unassisted. After a CSI foul, she was awarded a free kick from just outside the top of the box and chipped a perfect top-shelf shot just out of the reach of Wysokowski. Buonacquista scored 16 seconds later from the far right wing, chipping a shot over Wysokowski off an Albuja feed.