New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

MASPETH, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In the first meeting between the schools in 11 years, three different freshmen scored, including a pair of Gothic Knights who notched their first career points, and New Jersey City University, largely led by its reserves, snapped Baruch College's nine-game unbeaten streak with a 3-2 decision in non-conference men's soccer action on October 15 at the Met Oval. The contest was played under the lights in a steady rain.
 
NJCU wins its 11^th game of the season and guaranteed no worse than a .500 record for the first time since the 2008 campaign. Baruch (7-5-3), which had last suffered a loss on September 15 (4-0 vs. #17 New York University), had been 7-0-2 in its last nine contests and won six in a row prior to Monday's setback.
 
It was only the second meeting ever between the clubs and the first since NJCU won 9-0 in Jersey City on October 3, 2001. NJCU played 18 men in the game, including a total of 225 minutes from five newcomers who had combined for just 211 minutes in the first 16 games of the season. Baruch, which outshot NJCU 26-7, including 17-2 in the second half (9-5 in the first half), had 24 players see time.
 
Freshman defender CHRISTOPHER SEGOVIA (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial) and freshman midfielder NICHOLAS O'NEILL (Eatontown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) each netted their first collegiate goals and points before rookie forward BOBBY ATTISANO (Bayonne, NJ/County Prep) bagged his second career marker and first game-winner to help stake NJCU to a 3-0 halftime lead.
 
Sophomore midfielder ANDREW LOPES (Union, NJ/Union), one of the few regular starters to play more than half the game, contributed two assists—his fifth and sixth of the season—on NJCU's second and third goals.
 
Junior midfielder Christopher Peralta (Queens, NY) scored both goals for the Bearcats—his third and fourth of the season. Senior defender Akil George (Arima, Trinidad & Tobago) and junior midfielder Victor Tlepshev (Kiryat Gat, Israel) each added an assist, their fourth and third of the season, respectively.
 
Rookie goalkeeper KEVIN FUENTES (West New York, NJ/Memorial) made his first start since September 15 and saw his first action since September 17 and improved to 5-1 in net to open his career. He made nine saves, including six in the first half.
 
Baruch used a pair of keepers. Sophomore Peter DiBona (Middle Village, NY) allowed all three goals in the first 45  minutes before being replaced at halftime by junior Guy Sharav (Ra'aana, Israel) who made one save without surrendering a goal in the final 45 minutes.
 
Segovia, who has started all 17 games for NJCU as a rookie in the back and has played the second most minutes on the club (1396), got NJCU on the board just 1:45 into the action when he bent a shot over DiBona from outside the 18 for a 1-0 lead and his first collegiate score.
 
O'Neill, playing his fifth career game and for the first time since September 17, entered the game in the 33^rd minute and needed just four minutes to collect his first NCAA goal, finishing a cross inside the box from Lopes for a 2-0 edge at the 37:00 mark.
 
Attisano scored what proved to be the winner with two minutes remaining in the half when he took a thru ball from Lopes and beat DiBona for a 3-0 advantage.
 
Peralta made it a 3-1 contest at the 57:16 mark as he headed a cross from George into the goal. Baruch continued to dominate the shots in the second period and Peralta struck again at the 76 minute mark, when he netted a corner kick from Tlepshev after a scramble in the box. NJCU was able to keep Baruch off the board in the final 14 minutes to preserve its fourth one-goal victory of the season.
 
With just three games remaining in the regular season, NJCU will play the first of three New Jersey Athletic Conference games to end the slate when it hosts Rowan University on Wednesday, October 17 at 3 p.m. at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. NJCU must win a minimum of two of its final three NJAC games to remain alive in the NJAC Tournament race.