New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

MAHWAH, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In three previous seasons as a two-time All-Conference midfielder for the Gothic Knights, senior EDUARDO TEJADA (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington)  has been more well known for being the playmaker that set up his teammates for success. But on Wednesday afternoon, Tejada, a senior co-captain, was asked to accept another role—that of a scorer—and did so in historic fashion. Tejada had a hand in all five New Jersey City University goals—scoring three times while contributing a pair of assists—as NJCU routed Ramapo College, on the road, by a 5-2 result, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's soccer game on September 19.
 
Tejada scored NJCU's first, second and fourth goals, and assisted on the third and fifth markers, as the Gothic Knights exploded out to a 5-1 lead before prevailing, to improve to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference. In the process, Tejada's hat trick and eight points set a school record for most points in a conference game in the 54-yeard history of the program.
 
NJCU has now won 10 of its last 12 games dating to the end of the 2011 season (10/17/2011) and picks up three conference points. The Knights are in an eight-way tie for second place in the NJAC after two games as eight of the 10 teams in the league own a 1-1 record in the league. RCNJ dropped to 4-3 (1-1 NJAC) with the loss. NJCU leads the all-time series, 19-17-5.
 
Also for NJCU, sophomore midfielder MARCO AVELLA (Union, NJ/Union) scored for the second consecutive game after not tallying a goal in the first 15 games of his career. Freshman midfielder BOBBY ATTISANO (Bayonne, NJ/County Prep) also netted a goal for his first two collegiate points. Sophomore forward MANNY MARTIS (Union, NJ/Union) chipped in his second assist of the year.
 
“It was an amazing effort today; he was everywhere,” praised first-year head coach Patrick Snyder of his senior captain's effort. “We gave him a more offensive role today and he was still coming back to win balls and was a  great outlet for the backs. He was just ON today. Everything he did was just perfect.”
 
Tejada became the second player this year and ninth Gothic Knight in school history to notch at least eight points in a game (accomplished a total of 11 times). Sophomore RAPHAEL ARAUJO (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) collected eight points in a September 8 win over Keystone College; he did not play in the NJCU win on Wednesday.
 
“It's a very rewarding first NJAC win for us this year,” Snyder said. “The boys played extremely good soccer for almost the entire match. It was an exciting game and a fun one to be a part of.”
 
Junior goalkeeper SHELDON PARKINSON (New Rochelle, NY/Herbert H. Lehman (Bronx, NY), who has only played in three games this month while battling an injury, bounced back to make his presence felt with 11 saves in a full 90 minutes in net.
 
Ramapo goal scorers were junior forward Dave Przybylo (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany Hills) and sophomore forward Andrew Kirshteya (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge), with one assist contributed by freshman defender Rob Shalikar (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick).
 
Ramapo senior forward Rob Santaniello (Oakland, NJ/Ramapo), who had scored five goals in the past three seasons against NJCU, including a pair of two-goal games in 2009 and 2010, had a team-high seven shots (three on goal) but was held scoreless.
 
Freshman Grant Korten (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) started in goal and made three saves against three goals in 66:56 of action before junior Steve Monaghan (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) played the final 23:04, making three stops against two goals.
 
“We were just focused on trying to get even in the conference,” Snyder said about winning on the road to improve to 1-1 in the league. “We know we can play good soccer. When we do what we can do, we should be tough to handle.”
 
Tejada, who had seven shots, including five on goal, had never had a multi-goal game in his career before proving too tough to handle while recording his first three goals of the 2012 season and first career hat trick. He had scored just nine goals in his first 64 career games and now has 40 career points (12 goals, 16 assists).
 
He put NJCU in front with an unassisted goal at the 22:49 mark. After winning the ball, Tejada took on four guys before scoring from the left side of the goal for a 1-0 lead that stood at halftime. Ramapo outshot NJCU in the first 45 minutes, 11-7.
 
“It was a fantastic individual effort,” Snyder said, describing the goal. “He kept getting around guys, got loose and took it and put it away.”
 
NJCU, which outshot Ramapo overall, 25-22, dominated the second half with an 18-11 shots margin. But Ramapo would tie it at the 48:03 mark as Shalikar dished a free ball into the box where Przybylo was able to put away his fourth goal of the year to tie it.
 
NJCU regained the lead at the 58:05 mark. After rookie forward ABOUBACAR DIAWARA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) hit the post on a scoring chance, the carom went to the right of the goal and Martis followed the rebound, dug it out of the corner, beat a defender and slipped a pass to Tejada inside the 18 where he put away his second goal for a 2-1 lead.
 
Avella would score what proved to be the game-winner at the 66:53 mark. NJCU countered off a Ramapo corner and Tejada fed a pass to Avella who struck a shot from outside the 18 for a 3-1 lead. Tejada was awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box and buried a shot at the 71:19 mark to complete his hat trick and extend the advantage to 4-1.
 
Less than four minutes later, Attisano got his first NCAA goal as Tejada, who picked up his seventh assist of the season, took a ball away from the Ramapo defender and slipped a pass through the defense. Attisano, up against the last man, beat the center back with a burst of speed and put away a shot with the inside of his foot for a 5-1 advantage. Kirshteya scored with 1:13 left and the game well out of reach, for Ramapo's second goal.
 
NJCU will play a non-conference game on Saturday, September 22 at 4 p.m. when it travels to Scranton, Pa. for a game against Marywood University. It will be NJCU's first-ever meeting with the Pacers—a member of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC).