BROOKLYN, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's soccer team (6-8-0) returned to the win column on October 17, running roughshod over York College (NY) (1-14-1), 7-0, in non-conference action at Aviator Field. Sophomore forward Luis Laing (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) produced a hat trick off the bench—his first three collegiate tallies on a night where the Gothic Knights played 25 men.
 
Laing struck in the 34th, 38th and 72nd minutes, scoring three goals in just 33 minutes on the pitch. NJCU outshot the Cardinals 17-0 in a dominant first half and held a substantial 33-5 differential in total shots on the evening.
 
Sophomore center back Mike Almeida (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), freshman forward Edric De Paula (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) and freshman midfielder Hugo Herrera (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) each produced a goal and an assist for three-point efforts and junior forward Koshane Marshall (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) contributed two assists. Herrera and freshman midfielder Mateo Egas (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) joined Laing as Gothic Knights notching their first collegiate goals in the win. Junior midfielder Harwin Ventura (Fairview, NJ/Cliffside Park) and rookie mid Samuel Ansah (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) also had single assists in the win.
 
"Luis is a guy that brings great energy and work rate to the lineup," head coach Joe Cullen said. "He shows up and works hard day-in and day-out, and today he managed to find himself a first career hat trick. Luis has had opportunities to score goals in big games but has gotten a bit unlucky. I'm happy for him and look forward to his continued production and growth as a player."
 
It was a goals bonanza for the Knights as a team, with Almeida scoring the first goal of the night in the 23rd minute. The goal came on a header off a corner from Herrera. It was the captain's third goal of the season and Herrera's third assist.
 
After that, it was a pair of goals from Laing in under four minutes that put the game away before halftime, when NJCU led 3-0. Laing's first goal came as the result of a putback of rebound off a saved penalty kick by Marshall who was credited with the assist. The second was unassisted, as Laing did most of the work himself, finishing off a long run up the right side with a near-post finish.
 
After the half, De Paula fed Herrera a pretty through ball, which the freshman midfielder finished with aplomb late in the 48th minute. Less than three minutes later, it was De Paula on the receiving end, as Marshall, Ansah, and De Paula combined for a nice bit of play which resulted in De Paula's sixth goal of the campaign and a 5-0 lead for the Knights. The 51st minute play was double assisted.
 
Later in the half, Egas joined Laing and Herrera in the First Goal Club, as he collected a pass from Ventura and put the ball past York's junior goalkeeper Johan Bermeo (Jamaica, N.Y.) (seven saves) for the first tally of Egas' NJCU career in the 58th minute.
 
Laing put the capper on both his night, and the team's overall in the 72nd minute, taking a long pass from Almeida that snuck past Bermeo and the sophomore forward put it in the back of the net for his third goal of the match, giving the game its 7-0 final score.
 
With a final shot margin of 33-5, the Knights goalkeepers didn't have as much to do, but sophomore keeper Aldahir Cazun (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) (zero saves in 52:58) and junior goalie Danny Montehermoso (Union City, NJ/Union City) (three saves in 37:02) did well to keep the clean sheet for the Knights, their fifth shutout of the 2018 season.
 

 
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
NJCU men's soccer head coach Joe Cullen: "We had the opportunity today to get almost all of our guys some game minutes. It's a long trip all the way out to Aviator but the guys showed up today, got off the bus ready to go, and took care of business from the first whistle. We need to take our focus and momentum from today into Saturday when we get back to conference play at home against Stockton."
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 13th meeting. NJCU leads all-time, 12-1 (69-9 goal differential).
• Almeida's opening goal broke a scoreless streak for NJCU that had reached 484:47 over seven games.
• Montehermoso saw his first action in net since an 8-0 win, also over York, on September 19, 2016.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference play with just three regular season games remaining on the 2018 calendar. The Knights will host the Ospreys of Stockton University (7-7-3, 3-2-2 NJAC) on Saturday, October 20 at 1:00 p.m. at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.

 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on NJCU men's soccer and #NJCUMSoccer, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. Preferred hashtags are #GothicGameDay and #GothicFamily.