JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University moved to day 17 of The 2020 Gothics on May 27, during the Gothic Knights' virtual month-long awards series, and handed out four major awards—Play of the Year, Individual Performance of the Year, Game of the Year and Team of the Year. It is the second year all four awards were presented.
 
The women's basketball team was the biggest winner, taking home two awards—Team of the Year and Game of the Year. Women's Basketball qualified for the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 1989 and won its first conference postseason game in its history while setting a single-season school record of 6-3 in NJAC road games, to collect Team of the Year laurels.
 
NJCU's dramatic come-from-behind, 59-58 road win over No. 3 seeded Kean University in the NJAC Quarterfinals was voted Game of the Year.
 
Sophomore Dave Etienne (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) of the men's indoor track and field team earned Individual Performance of the Year after winning the 200 and 400 meters at the Collegeville Invitational on January 25.
 
Meanwhile, sophomore forward Edric De Paula (Blairstown, NJ/Newark Tech) of the men's soccer team took home The Gothic for Play of the Year. His golden-goal overtime bicycle kick against Mount Saint Vincent on September 16 gave NJCU a single-season record for consecutive wins to open a year and was the No. 2 play on ESPN SportsCenter.
 
All the finalists and winners were honored during a live reveal watch party.
 
PLAY of the YEAR FINALISTS: https://youtu.be/qcDJ-sKscyE 

• Aldahir Cazun (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) of men's soccer—goalkeeper punt for a goal on October 9 against Purchase that was an AP Top 10 Play of the Year and was featured on ESPN SportsCenter. 
• Edric De Paula (Blairstown, NJ/Newark Tech) of men's soccer—game-winning golden goal bicycle kick on September 16 to beat Mount Saint Vincent, and was eventually the No. 2 play on ESPN SportsCenter. It was one of two times he appeared on SportsCenter in 2019.
• Tarique Holmes (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) of men's basketball—buzzer-beating desperation three-pointer on February 8 to force overtime against Stockton. 
• Ron Jones (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) of men's soccer—shootout penalty kick to beat McDaniel in the ECAC Round of 16 on November 16.
• Luiggie Luna (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) of baseball—two-run homer in the 7th inning on March 10 at No. 4 Trinity (Texas) to give NJCU a 4-0 lead. It was the first hit and first HR of his collegiate career. 
• Aaliyah McCrae (Paterson, NJ/Manchester Regional) of women's basketball—game-winning foul shots with 3.4 seconds left to beat defending NJAC champion Rutgers-Newark on December 14 to give NJCU its first conference road victory since 2014. 
• Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial) of women's soccer (2 plays) —dribbling through three defenders on September 11 at Cedar Crest before dishing a pass for an assist and her Goal Olimpico on September 15 at Lehman.  

 

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE of the YEAR: https://youtu.be/hPUkdmn2_LA 

• Katrina Nguyendon (Union, NJ/Union), women's volleyball: August 30, 2019—Tallied 25 assists, eight digs and seven aces in her collegiate debut in a 3-1 win over Saint Elizabeth.
• Joe Burgos (Hackensack, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep), men's soccer: September 3, 2019—Scored the first three goals of his collegiate career in a 4-1 neutral win over Albright.
• Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial), women's soccer: September 11, 2019—Scored nine points—four goals and one assist—in a 5-2 road win over eventual CSAC regular season champion Cedar Crest.  
• Ayanna Lewis (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County institute of Technology), women's basketball: January 22, 2020—Scored 28 points and added 13 rebounds in a full 40 minutes of a 72-70 road loss at Kean.
• Dave Etienne (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson), men's indoor track and field: January 25, 2020—Won the 200 and 400 meters at the Collegeville Invitational.
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown), men's basketball: January 25, 2020—Scored 27 points and hit six three-pointers to break the NJCU school career record for made three-pointers in an 81-79 win over Rowan.
• Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen), men's volleyball: February 22, 2020—Posted a career-high 22 kills and added 12 digs in a four-set loss at King's (Pa.).

 

GAME of the YEAR: https://youtu.be/dojgD2s68MU 

• Men's Soccer: September 16, 2019; NJCU won, 3-2, in overtime to edge Mount Saint Vincent, 3-2 to set a single-season record for consecutive wins to start a season. The game-winning goal by Edric De Paula (Blairstown, NJ/Newark Tech) was voted the 2019-20 Play of the Year.
• Men's Soccer: November 16, 2019; In its first postseason game since 2012, NJCU outlasted McDaniel in a shootout in the ECAC Round of 16 to advance to the ECAC Quarterfinals.
• Women's Basketball: December 14, 2019; NJCU hit two foul shots with 3.4 seconds remaining to upset defending conference champion Rutgers-Newark, 51-50, for its first NJAC road win since 2014. It was the catalyst for what would become a school record 6-3 road record in 2019-20.
• Women's Basketball: February 22, 2020; NJAC Quarterfinals. In the first NJAC Tournament game since 1989, the Gothic Knights upset No. 3 seeded Kean, 59-58, for the first NJAC Tournament win in school history to advance to the conference semifinals.
• Men's Indoor Track and Field: March 6-7, 2020; Fifth place finish among 24 scoring teams in second year since program was relaunched.
• Women's Indoor Track and Field: March 6-7, 2020; Fifth place finish among 24 scoring teams in second year since program was relaunched.

 

TEAM of the YEAR:  https://youtu.be/zTDo83yr-bE 

• Women's Basketball
• Men's Soccer
• Men's Indoor Track and Field

 

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