JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | From the 8' mark to the 89' mark, the New Jersey City University men's soccer team largely outplayed their New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents Rutgers-Newark (9-8-1, 4-5-0 NJAC). However, a pair of Scarlet Raider goals—one in the eighth minute and another in literally the final second of the game with NJCU pushing up field for an equalizer, gave Rutgers-Newark the 2-0 victory on NJCU's 2018 Senior Day at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field on October 24.
 
The Knights (6-11-0, 0-9-0 NJAC) were celebrating the class of 2018, only one of whom was at Wednesday's game, leading scorer and senior forward Theo Sanoh (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) (8 goals, 19 points). Sanoh didn't actually make it on the pitch due to a season-ending shoulder injury he suffered earlier this month, meaning the youthful Knights didn't actually have any seniors on the pitch for Senior Day.
 
Sanoh's presence was missed in a game like Wednesday's in which the Knights were outshooting RU-Newark, 15-14, until the Scarlet Raiders had two breakaway opportunities in the final 64 seconds with NJCU pressing for the tying goal. Newark finished with a 16-15 edge in shots (7-6 on goal).
 
Senior midfielder Victor Navas Jr. (North Plainfield, N.J.) had the finishing touch for Rutgers-Newark in the eighth minute. The Raiders fourth early corner kick from freshman defender Joe Alba (Union City, N.J.) found the head of Navas Jr., who ran from the middle of box on the set piece and on the run guided the ball into the back of the net at the near post, giving the Raiders the early 1-0 lead.
 
After ceding the early lead, the Knights did well to flip the run of play, stringing together some nice build-up play and creating some decent looks in the attacking third. The best opportunity came on a double chance when freshman forward Edric De Paula (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) headed across the face of goal and junior forward Koshane Marshall (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) sent a follow-up header towards goal, but freshman goalkeeper Christian Andrach (Elmwood Park, N.J.) was up to the task, making a diving stop, one of several strong saves on the day for Andrach (six saves total).
 
De Paula also had a very strong free kick curled around a wall in the 26' that looked destined for the back of the net as well, but another leaping save from Andrach kept the Knights off the board.
 
The start of the second half was much the same. Both teams had chances, but none were able to find the back of the net. NJCU sophomore goalkeeper Eric Lopes Silva (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) made five saves on the day, including a pair of one-on-one chances that kept the Knights in the match.
 
The Knights continued to press further and further up the field, and in the game's dying moments, that all-out approach burned them when freshman defender Dani Alves (Newark, N.J.) sent freshman midfielder Anthony Oliveira (Lyndhurst, N.J.) in for a one-on-one breakaway. Oliveira converted the chance with less than a second on the game clock, giving the game its 2-0 score.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: The Raiders have now won the past 10 meetings and lead the overall series 25-17-2.
• Theo Sanoh (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) ends the year as the Knights' leading goal scorer (8).
• Sophomore captain Mike Almeida (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) logged the most time on the pitch this year, with 1,524 minutes played.
• Edric De Paula (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) ended up with the most shots (58), while Sanoh had the most shots on goal (27).
• Eric Lopes Silva (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) led the team with five wins and 62 saves.
• Sanoh put together quite a strong NJCU career before his senior season 11 games into the campaign. He was a four-time NJCU Athlete of the Week, nabbing New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week during week four of this season. He played 64 games for the Knights, starting 53 times and playing over 4,039 minutes on the field. He tallied an impressive 23 goals and nine assists (55 points), and he often came up clutch when it mattered most, with seven game-winning goals. By the time he was done, he ranked fifth in school history in shots attempted (182) and shots on goal (87); sixth in game-winning goals; tied for 10th in goals scored; 12th in total points; and he ranked among the Top 25 all-time in minutes played, as well as assists and goals per game.

 
UP NEXT:

• The 2019 men's soccer schedule will be announced in spring 2019.

 
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