JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's soccer team completed play for its 2020-21 regular season today, Saturday, April 3. The Gothic Knights seemed to control the pace of play for the majority of the day against William Paterson University at Robert L. McNulty Memorial Field, but unfortunately they were unable to convert on their five shots on net and fell to the Pioneers 1-0 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) competition.
NJCU (0-4, 0-4 NJAC) had what might have been its best opportunity for a tally on the season early in the first half when William Paterson (2-1, 2-1 NJAC) was called for a yellow inside the box in the sixth minute, resulting in a penalty try for Gothic Knights' sophomore midfielder
Oscar Perez (Passaic, N.J./Passaic Tech). Unfortunately the Pioneer keeper came up with a wonderful stop to keep it scoreless for the time being. The Gothic Knights managed another quality chance in the 37th when freshman forward
Jhonatan Giron (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen), who had entered as a sub 10 minutes earlier, attempted a shot to the lower left of the net, but that was also stopped by WPU's netminder. The visitors first shot of the game came several minutes later in the 43rd but it was turned aside by junior keeper
Nick Linebaugh (Linden, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) as the two squads headed in to the half in a scoreless tie. He finished with three saves on the afternoon.
Once the second half began, tensions started to build as the intensity of the match rose. Freshman midfielder
Thiago Duarte (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) attempted the first shot on net for the half in the 65th, which was stopped, and several minutes later a pair of players got tied up near the midfield line. Freshman midfielder
Juan Macias (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) and William Paterson's Alfredo Gonzalez were intertwined, resulting in both hitting the pitch with force. Each was called for yellow cards and then play went on. Minutes later, Linebaugh made a stellar stop in the 69th to keep it at 0-0 for the time being and then Duarte had yet another chance in the 72nd that was again turned aside.
In the 77th minute, freshman back
Alvaro Cardozo (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) was called for a tough foul in the box that led to a penalty try from the Pioneers, which they converted on to make it 1-0. NJCU had a couple more good chances as time was winding down with the home team trying to tie it up. Rookie midfielder
Anthony Salmeron (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) attempted a shot on net in the 81st but was denied. Linebaugh later came up with another strong stop to keep it a one goal game in the 86th and then, with just over 1:30 remaining, the Gothic Knights came inches away from tying it up. Freshman back
Oscar Garcia (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) sent a through ball all the way from midfield toward the goal, which was misplayed by the Pioneers' goalkeeper. The ball slipped through his hands and sophomore forward
Ryan Evande (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) was
just unable to get a clean foot on it to put the ball into the back of the net.
What's Next
Despite the tough regular-season for the young Gothic Knights squad, which boasts 19 freshmen, they will return to action this Wednesday, April 7, as the #6 seed in the NJAC Tournament for a quarterfinal matchup with #3 Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., at a to-be-determined time. The match against the Roadrunners will be NJCU's first in the NJAC Tournament since the 2008 season.
