JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University scored less than two minutes into the game before Kean University countered with tallies in the seventh and 15th frames, added another just before halftime, and prevailed 4-1 in a pivotal New Jersey Athletic Conference women's soccer game on October 12 at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
 
Kean (8-6, 3-3 NJAC) and NJCU (5-5-1, 2-4 NJAC) entered the day in a four-way tie for fifth place in the league standings but the Cougars earned the critical three points as both schools vie for a spot in the conference tournament at the end of the season.
 
NJCU had three of the first four shots of the game before Kean finished the first half with nine of the next 10 attempts and had a 13-4 advantage in the second half to outshoot the Gothic Knights, 23-8.
 
Junior back Lexi Mescavage (Bayonne, N.J./Saint Dominic Academy) headed home her first goal as a Gothic Knight off a double assist from  freshman center mid Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, N.J./Memorial) and freshman forward Liliana Ventura (West New York, N.J./Memorial).
 
Senior midfielder Jordyn Bronsky (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest) scored twice, netting the game-tying and game-winning markers while sophomore forward Sabrina Pascarella (Lawrence, N.J./Lawrence) and senior mid Kayla Birth (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) added additional goals in the 43rd and 82nd minutes.
 
Freshman back Deana Abdou (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) contributed two assists, leading to the third and fourth scores. Junior mid Mallory Noordeloos (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) assisted on the game-tying goal.
 
Junior goalkeeper Paula Viana (Elizabeth, N.J./Hamilton Prep Academy) made nine saves for the Knights. Kean senior Lauren Healey (Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn) had one save.
 
Junior mid Kendall Machak (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock) had a game-high five shots (three on goal) for Kean while Noordeloos had four attempts. Vargas led NJCU with four shots.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Just over a minute into the game, NJCU had an immediate opportunity and cashed in. After a foul outside the 18, Vargas was awarded a free kick from 22 yards out which beat Healey but struck the crossbar and caromed high towards the left post. Ventura, crashing the net, headed the ball from the far post towards the goalmouth where Mescavage headed it in the upper right side for a 1-0 lead just 1:46 into the game. It was NJCU's first double assist on 21 goals this season.
 
Despite the early momentum, NJCU couldn't maintain it and Kean slowly began attacking. After an earlier chance for Kean struck the outside netting, the Cougars kept the pressure on. At the 6:38 mark, Noordeloos was awarded a free kick and she unleashed a long line drive into the box where a leaping Bronsky headed a shot into the right side to even the game at 1-1.
 
Kean would go ahead on a defensive mistake 14:54 into the game. A Kean throw from the far sideline into the box was inadvertently cleared right in front of the NJCU goal by a defender and Bronsky was there to collect the loose ball and tuck it in for the eventual game-winner. Her second goal of the game was her seventh of the season.
 
Kean added to its lead at the 42:40 mark. Abdou chipped a ball from midfield to Pascarella in stride. She split two defenders and buried a strike into the upper right side for her second goal of the year. Kean led 3-1 at the half. With 8:47 left in the second half, Abdou helped Kean seal it when she headed a ball across the box to the Birth who knocked home her third goal of the season.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: Kean leads the all-time series, 22-1, and has won the last six meetings.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU will play the final weekend home conference game on Saturday, October 15 and it's a game the Knights need to win to stay alive in the NJAC standings as NJCU hosts Ramapo College (2-8-1, 1-5 NJAC) at 1 p.m. in the second game of a three-game homestand. Prior to the game, NJCU will honor its two senior captains, midfielder Kaydee Murphy (Bayonne, N.J./Holy Family Academy) and back Jubeth Buitrago (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus).