New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University outshot Kean University, 22-11, including 13-6 in the second half, but the Cougars defense made a 13^th minute goal stand up as Kean edged NJCU, 1-0, in  a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Wednesday at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
 
Kean improves to 6-2-2 with the win and 3-1-0 in the NJAC and leads the all-time series, 33-17-3. NJCU falls to 3-4-1 (0-2-0 NJAC).
 
Cougar sophomore keeper Tyler Callahan (Landisville, NJ/Buena Regional) secured his first win of the season by making nine saves in a shutout effort. In defeat, Gothic Knight senior keeper MANNY LOJO (Clark, NJ/Union Catholic) set aside two shots.
 
The only goal of the game came after a defensive mistake in the 13^th minute. After NJCU's defense hesitated on a ball slipped in the box, expecting an offsides call to be made, Kean played the ball for an easy goal as junior midfielder Danny Olivo (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) slid a pass from the right to freshman forward Erickson Simeon (Haledon, NJ/Manchester Regional) who finished a wide-open shot into the left side of the net at 12:43 for his sixth goal of the season. The assist was the first this year for Olivo.
 
Simeon nearly struck again just 90 seconds later. After the Cougars played a ball over the Gothic Knight defense, Simeon ran onto the pass on the left side of the box and had plenty of time to unleash a shot in a 1-on-1 against Lojo who did a good job of cutting off the far angle. Simeon cranked a shot left that rang off the near post and out at 14:16.
 
In the 30^th minute freshman forward JONNATHAN VELOZ (Newark, NJ/East Side) nearly tied it when a nice feed from junior midfielder NANA KOFI KUSI (Newark, NJ/Kumasi Academy (Ghana) set up an open look, before the close range shot was blocked at 29:19.
 
Just 33 seconds later, Callahan made a shutout-preserving, two-handed save to block a close-range shot by Gothic Knight freshman forward RAPHAEL ARAUJO (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) on the far left post.
 
The Knights possessed the ball offensively for much of the second half but were not able to cash in on two solid scoring chances. First at 71:33, junior midfielder AMANFO ASSIBU (Bronx, NY/Sheepshead Bay) took off on a breakaway after gaining possession of a ball that bounced over the Cougar midfield on a goal kick, but missed his shot just outside the near left post.
 
Finally, with 1:57 remaining, junior defender EDUARDO TEJADA (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) made a run up the field, dribbling from 25 yards out into the box and played a pass from the left to the center of the box to Araujo, who turned right, but missed right on the off-balance attempt.
 
NJCU junior center midfielder #GABRIEL AVANS# (Roselle Park, NJ/Union Catholic) had a game-high five shots (three on goal) and Araujo added four. Assibu and Veloz each had three shots for NJCU; Simeon led the Cougars with three shots.
 
NJCU returns to action on Saturday, October 1 at 1 p.m. with a road NJAC game against Richard Stockton College in Pomona, NJ. Kean hosts Ramapo College in conference action in Union, NJ at the same time.