New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | For the first time all season the New Jersey City University men's soccer team dropped a decision by more than one goal and it couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. Rowan University led 1-0 at the half and increased their lead to 3-0 in the early stages of the second half before withstanding a late Gothic Knight surge to defeat NJCU, 3-1, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest on October 17 at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
 
The loss is the third in four games for NJCU and its third straight in the conference. The setback drops the Knights to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC with two league games remaining. Rowan snaps a two-game losing streak and improves to .500 overall at 7-7-2 and 2-4-1 in the NJAC, leapfrogging the Knights in the standings by one point (7 vs. 6).
 
Rowan outshot NJCU, 29-20, including 15-7 in the first half, and leads the all-time series, 35-15-4, winning for the second straight year.
 
NJCU's hopes of qualifying for the last NJAC Tournament berth grew fainter with the loss. The Knights must sweep both of its last two conference games against The College of Jersey (Saturday, October 20, 11 a.m. in Ewing) and at home on Wednesday, October 24 vs. #21 Rutgers University-Camden—the defending NJAC champions—while needing William Paterson University to lose its final two NJAC games against Rutgers-Newark (October 20) and Kean University (October 24), to have a chance to qualify. NJCU also needs Richard Stockton College and Rowan to not reach the 12-point mark.
 
NJCU outshot Rowan in the second half, 14-13, and certainly had its opportunities to establish scoring chances. The Knights had an incredible 15-4 margin in corner kicks in the game but couldn't cash in. The 15 corner kicks were two shy of the known school record of 17, also at home against Rowan, on September 23, 2006. NJCU had 11 corners in the second half alone.
 
Three of the four goals in the game were unassisted and four different players netted a marker. Sophomore midfielder Parker Oris (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional), sophomore forward Christian Fountain (Fredericksburg, VA/Stafford) and senior forward Julian Berrios (Lakewood, NJ/Calvary Academy) scored for the visitors with freshman midfielder Connor Moffat (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) picking up an assist. Rowan scored in the 36^th, 57^th and 65^th minutes to establish the multiple-goal margin.
 
Sophomore midfielder/forward MANNY MARTIS (Union, NJ/Union) scored his third goal of the season in the 76^th minute (75:41).
 
Reserve rookie goalkeeper KEVIN FUENTES (West New York, NJ/Memorial) faced 11 shots on goal and made eight saves. Senior Michael Fanz-Huster (Waterford, NJ/Hammonton) played the first 75:41 in goal and made two saves before junior Ryan Gill (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford) made one stop in 14:19 of action.
 
Neither side had a lot of good scoring chances in the first half, but Rowan capitalized on a defensive mistake with 35:48 remaining. Oris stole the ball from the defense outside the top of the box, made a short run and unleashed a shot into the upper left side of the net for a 1-0 lead. It was his second goal of the season.
 
In the 54^th minute, Fuentes came out and stopped a point-blank chance by Fountain and the Profs missed the rebound high.
 
But another defensive breakdown led to Rowan's second goal at 56:45. The Profs cleared a ball up field and Fountain came into possession in the middle of the field, roughly 25 yards from goal. Unmarked, he turned and fired a shot on net and Fuentes slipped just as the shot was released. The NJCU keeper couldn't recover in time to block the shot before the slow chance settled inside the near right post. It was the ninth goal of the season for Rowan's leading scorer.
 
Fountain had a game-high seven shots, including three on goal. Fuentes made a save in the 62^nd minute to smother another Fountain chance on the far left post.
 
But Rowan would add an insurance goal three minutes later as Moffat aired out a cross from the far left sideline. Berrios leaped and headed a shot off the side of his head and shoulder that beat Fuentes inside the bottom right post.
 
Facing a three-goal deficit, NJCU had nine of the final 13 shots of the game and finally put one in with 14:19 remaining as Martis settled a clear just inside the 18 and struck a 16-yard shot into the left side of the goal.
 
But NJCU couldn't score again. Freshman forward ABOUBACAR DIAWARA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) had a great chance with Gill off the line blocked in the 80^th minute and Gill backpedaled to make a good, leaping save on sophomore midfielder ANDREW CARVALHOSO (Linden, NJ/Linden) in the 84^th minute. Carvalhoso came off the bench to lead NJCU with four shots; seven Knights had multiple shots in the game while eight Rowan players took at least two shots.
 
While NJCU faces TCNJ in Ewing, NJ on October 20, Rowan is home for Kean University on Friday, October 19 at 3:30 p.m.