JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University's women's soccer head coach Anthony Tuesta has been elected to the Clifton High School Athletic Hall of Fame, in recognition for his All-State career for the Mustangs from 1998-2001. Tuesta, who will enter his fifth season as Gothic Knight head coach in Fall 2020, is slated to be  inducted on Sunday, October 11 at 12 PM at The Brownstone Restaurant in Paterson, N.J.
 
A 2002 alumnus of Clifton High School in Clifton, NJ, he played four seasons (1998-01) of varsity soccer for one of the most storied programs in New Jersey history, starring for the Mustangs under late legendary coach Fernando Rossi. He was instrumental in the school winning four consecutive Passaic County and Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) championships during his career. The Mustangs won the 2000 state sectional title and advanced to the 2000 overall state finals.
 

Individually, Tuesta scored 93 goals and delivered 40 assists for a remarkable 226 points in four years for Clifton, but essentially in three years as he missed much of his junior campaign in 2000 with a leg injury. He was a three-time First-Team All-State sectional, All-Passaic County, All-Area and All-NNJIL league selection in 1998, 1999 and 2001 and the 1999 Herald News Area Player of the Year as a sophomore. In 1999 and 2001, he was listed as one of the Top 51 Players in the state by the Soccer Coaches Association of New Jersey as a first-team selection; as a freshman in 1998 he was listed as a third-team SCANJ Top 51 pick.
 
"While I certainly accomplished a lot, in terms of goals scored and individual awards, what was most important to me during my high school career was playing under Coach Fernando Rossi and besides my brother, David Tuesta," said Tuesta. "I am eternally grateful for the belief, guidance and support Coach Rossi provided for me throughout my career. I would not be the man I am today if it was not for Coach Rossi. I wish he was still alive today to see how far I've come, from a struggling student to a Division III college head coach. Additionally, playing alongside my brother David, and winning championships with him is something I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to do. Playing with my brother is one of the fondest memories of my life and I will cherish those moments forever."
 
Tuesta made an immediate impact as a freshman in 1998, scoring 23 goals with 18 assists for 64 points. The Mustangs scoring leader, he was voted Third-Team All-State, First-Team All-Group IV, First-Team All-County, First-Team All-Area, First-Team All-NNJIL conference. Clifton won the Passaic County Tournament Championship and was crowned Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League champions.
 

Tuesta's sophomore year saw him produce a career-best 76 points, netting 32 goals and 12 assists for a Clifton squad that finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country. In addition to winning the Herald News Player of the Year laurels, Tuesta was named First-Team All-State and First-Team Top 51 by the Soccer Coaches Association of New Jersey. He repeated with First-Team All-Group IV, First-Team All-County, First-Team All-Area, First-Team All-NNJIL conference honors and the Mustangs again were Passaic County and NNJIL champions.
 
His junior season was cut short after just five games in 2000 with a broken leg, but he still managed to score six goals. Clifton was Passaic County and NNJIL champion for the third time in his career and was the Group IV state finalist.
 
Healthy and back on the pitch for his senior campaign in 2001, he again scored 32 goals while adding 10 assists for 74 points. In a mirror image of his sophomore season, he was First-Team All-State, First-Team Top 51 SCANJ, First-Team All-Group IV, First-Team All-County, First-Team All-Area, First-Team All-NNJIL conference honors and the Mustangs again were Passaic County and NNJIL champions for the fourth straight year.
 
After graduating, he played two seasons at Mercer County Community College, leading the Vikings to back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national finals in 2002 and 2003 under Coach Charlie Inverso, before heading to Kean University for his junior and senior seasons. A 2009 Kean alum, Tuesta was a two-time First-Team All-NJAC selection in 2006 and 2007, taking home the league's NJAC Offensive Player of the Year as a junior. The outstanding forward claimed 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division III/NSCAA First-Team All-Metro Region honors. In 2006, he was a D3kicks.com Second-Team All-America choice and Kean's Player of the Year.
 

Today, Tuesta is the second winningest coach in NJCU women's soccer program history with 24 victories over his first four years while playing in one of the top conferences in NCAA Division III. Tuesta was named the 15^th head women's soccer coach in program history in November 2015 and in August, 2016, was elevated to full-time—the first-ever full-time coach of the sport at NJCU. 
 
In his first four seasons at NJCU, the Knights have had their greatest success in non-conference games, posting a 20-8-1 record for a .707 winning percentage. NJCU was 5-1-1 out of conference in 2016, 5-1-0 in 2018 and 7-2-0 in 2019.
 
Tuesta has coached one of the best players to ever take the pitch for the Gothic Knights, Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial), who became the program's third all-time leading scorer and one of the most prolific in league history, producing 139 points on 59 goals and 21 assists from 2016-19. Vargas became the first Gothic Knight to ever be named First-Team All-NJAC three times and the fourth NJCU women's soccer player to earn a spot on an All-Conference team in four seasons playing in Jersey City.  
 
Academically, the 2018-19 team earned an impressive 3.208 grade point average and the 2016-17 club produced a 3.068. In all, 20 of his student-athletes have earned Academic All-NJAC honors
 
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