New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

NEW PALTZ, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | One year after New Jersey City University knocked off SUNY New Paltz in the championship game of the Hawks' own tournament, the host team got the better of the Gothic Knights in the 2012 title game. New Paltz outshot NJCU, 28-4, and led 3-0 at halftime en route to a 5-0 win in the second round of the Michelle Vargas-Robin Memorial Tournament on Saturday.
 
NJCU (0-1-1), which tied SUNY Cortland yesterday, 2-2 in two overtimes, was facing its second consecutive NCAA Division III qualifier from last season to open the year. New Paltz (2-0), which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2011 before falling to eventual national champion Messiah College, won its tournament without surrendering a goal on the weekend. NJCU had defeated the Hawks, 1-0 in overtime in last year's final.
 
Cortland, which knocked off Mount Saint Mary College, 3-1, in Saturday's other game, finished second in the tournament with NJCU placing third.
 
Sophomore All-Conference goalkeeper BRITTANY HOFFMAN (McMurray, PA/Peters Township), who made a career-high 18 saves in the season opener, stopped 11 shots in this contest under heavy pressure as the Hawks had a 17-3 margin in shots on goal. Hoffman made double digits in saves for the seventh time in her career.
 
Her counterpart, NP senior goalkeeper Stephanie Vega (Oceanside, NY) stopped all three shots she faced in the game for her second consecutive shutout.
 
Senior center midfielder BRIANNA TAYLOR (Linden, NJ/Linden) recorded three of NJCU's four shots, including two on goal.
 
NP, which had a 19-1 edge in first half shots, was led by senior forward Shelby Kondelka (Bloomingsburg, NY) who netted a pair of goals in just 17 minutes of action—one at the 28:34 mark and another to cap the scoring at 73:02.
 
Senior forward Samantha Abravanel (Islip, NY) scored the eventual game-winner at the 9:54 mark off a feed from freshman forward Chelsea Weir (West Islip, NY). The two exchanged roles less than 10 minutes later as NP took a 2-0 lead at 19:43 as Weir scored her first career goal off an assist by Abravanel.
 
Senior midfielder Beth Bowling (Islip, NY) also scored in the 63^rd minute for a 4-0 lead with her second marker of the weekend. Sophomore midfielder Eleni Anselmi (Garnerville, NY) and freshman midfielder Marissa Carlton (Port Jervis, NY) each picked up an assist.
 
NJCU plays the first home sporting event of the 2012-13 season on Wednesday, September 5 at 4 p.m. when it hosts SUNY Old Westbury at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.