JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com)  | With less than 30 seconds left on a rain-soaked Robert L. McNulty pitch, with the winds howling and the rains downpouring, the New Jersey City University men's soccer team (11-6-0, 0-6-0 NJAC) suffered yet another heartbreaking New Jersey Athletic Conference loss, as sophomore midfielder Frank Oramas (Jersey City, N.J.) got to a loose ball in the box and slotted the ball into the back of the net, giving Montclair State University (11-4-1, 3-2-1 NJAC) a 2-1 victory on October 16.
 
The start time for the game was moved up, with introductions skipped, in advance of a storm that would greatly impact both teams all game. 
 
The first goal came on a very pretty play in the very ugly conditions on Wednesday. In the 15th minute, sophomore midfielder Brogan Quigley (Scotch Plains, N.J.) whipped a ball in from the left flank right in front of the net, finding, finding freshman forward Oscar Sanchez (Garfield, N.J.) for a one-touch goal, his 10th goal of the season.
 
After that, neither team had any great scoring chances for the rest of the first half, with the rain-soaked field killing off as many attacks as the tough defenses.
 
In the second half, it was the Gothic Knights who were on the front foot, and they appeared to have evened things up in the 60th minute, when NJCU had a game-tying goal by sophomore forward Edric De Paula (Blairstown, NJ/Newark Tech) negated by an offside call on a teammate. After the Montclair keeper, junior Michael Mejia (North Bergen, N.J.) had slipped, De Paula unleashed a high shot on a scrum in the middle of the box that was called back, keeping the MSU lead at 1-0.
 
However, that lead ended up not being safe after all, as with 11:36 remaining in regulation, NJCU got even. Freshman center back Joao Fernandes (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) gathered a rebound a few yards off the near left post, switched feet, and blasted a right-footed shot off the keeper and into the far right side netting, evening things at 1-1.
 
The Knights kept up the pressure, as with under five minutes left, De Paula once again nearly got on the scoresheet, as he got to the doorstep after a throw-in snuck through the box, but his shot was hit right to the keeper.
 
This inability to get a second goal proved costly for the Knights, as the Red Hawks managed to sneak out the aforementioned last-second victory after a cross came into the box, got a few MSU touches, and ended up at the feet of Oramas who was able to score his third goal—and first game-winner—of the season, sending the Knights into the loss column for the sixth time this year, all in conference.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 66th meeting. Montclair leads the all-time series 52-11-3. MSU has now won the last 10 meetings.
• The shots were nearly even for the two sides, with 18 for MSU and 15 for NJCU; corner kicks were 10-1 in favor of the Red Hawks.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Gothic Knights host their Senior Day on Saturday, October 19 against The College of New Jersey (9-2-3, 1-1-3 NJAC) starting at an extra early 11:00 a.m. at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.

 
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