GLASSBORO, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Nationally No. 24-ranked Rowan University scored three goals in each half and defeated the New Jersey City University men's soccer team, 6-0, in the 2017 New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both schools under the lights on September 16.
 
Rowan (6-2-0, 1-0-0 NJAC) outshot NJCU (3-2-1, 0-1-0 NJAC) by a 19-2 margin in the first half, putting 10 of those chances on frame. The Profs ended with a 33-6 shot differential and 19-2 margin in shots on goal. Rowan also had all 10 corner kicks in the game.
 
Freshman Aldahir Cazun (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson), the team's No. 2 goalkeeper, started in place of fellow freshman Eric Lopes Silva (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side), who sat out for the first time this year after receiving a hand ball red card in NJCU's last game on September 13.
 
Cazun faced 32 shots and made 13 saves under heavy pressure. He made seven saves in the first half, including a penalty kick from junior forward Shane Doherty (Delran, N.J.) in the 43rd minute.
 
Rowan saw six different players tally goals. Sophomore midfielder Modou Sowe (Harrison, N.J.), sophomore forward Matt Hendrickson (Sewell, N.J.) and junior forward Burak Ozdemir (Sewell, N.J.) all tallied first half goals. Sophomore back Nick Schlageter (Jackson, N.J.), junior back Brian Dziobak (Freehold, N.J.) and sophomore forward Blake Czajkowski (Bayville, N.J.) scored in the second half. Dziobak had three points on the day.
 
Junior back Will Sjaastad (Allentown, N.J.) had a pair of assists while Doherty, Dziobak, sophomore mid Kevin Primich (Allentown, N.J.), freshman back Mat Fahey (Williamstown, N.J.), junior midfielder Kevin Pereira (Allentown, N.J.) and junior forward Zack Sakena (Ocean View, N.J.) each contributed single helpers. Rowan was credited with a double assist on two of the six goals in the game.
 
Rowan junior Erik Checkur (Wantage, N.J.) a 6-foot-8 presence in goal, made two saves to help preserve the shutout as 28 players saw time for the hosts. NJCU had 21 players take the pitch.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sowe scored the eventual game-winning goal on a nifty play late in the ninth minute. Sjaastad served a ball into the box and Primich flicked a header to Sowe who used his 6-foot-3 frame to head home the winner.
 
Late in the 13th minute, Rowan added another on a rebound. Sjaastad struck a free kick off the crossbar and Hendrickson put away the rebound. The 39th minute saw Ozdemir score off a cross from Doherty for a 3-0 margin.
 
In the 53rd minute, the assistant referee signaled offsides but the flag was waved off and Rowan capitalized, as Schlageter finished a header pass from Fahey off a Dziobak service. Rowan added another in the 59th minute as Dziobak cut through the box to head in a free kick from Pereira from 30 yards out. With exactly 16 minutes left, Sakena slipped a ball onto the right side of the box and Czajkowski made a stutter-step for space before finishing left.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: Rowan leads, 40-15-4 and has won the last seven meetings
• Rowan is ranked No. 24 nationally and No. 4 in the South Atlantic Region in the NCAA Division III/United Soccer Coaches poll.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU will be right back in action on Sunday afternoon on September 17 (4 p.m.) when it hosts York College (NY). NJCU leads the all-time series, 11-1 (62-9 goal differential), including an 8-0 win last season in Brooklyn, N.Y. on September 19, 2016.

 
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