UNION, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's soccer team dropped a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) match on the road tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 19, as the Gothic Knights fell to Kean University by a score of 3-1.

Early on against the Cougars (6-6-4, 2-2-3 NJAC), NJCU (8-3-1, 3-3-1 NJAC) gained momentum and had a couple of scoring opportunities in the first and 10th minutes of the night. However, both were turned aside by the Kean Keeper. Then, the Cougars' first chance came early in the 27th, but senior keeper Nick Linebaugh (Linden, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) turned it aside, resulting in a Kean corner kick. The ensuing chance ended in the game's first tally, making it 1-0 Kean late in the 27th.

Several minutes later, freshman midfielder Juan Vizcaino (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) was called for a foul and then three yellow cards were subsequently handed out to the Gothic Knights. However, the next chance once again came for Jersey City as junior midfielder Thiago Duarte (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) sent one on net late in the 35th, but was turned aside. Again, though, Kean managed to strike to make it 2-0 on its next shot in the 39th. Duarte sent one more on net in the 45th but was unsuccessful and into the break the game remained a two-goal advantage for the Cougars.

Kean maintained momentum to start the second and attempted four on-goal attempts in the first 25 minutes, however Linebaugh was able to stop them all. Mixed in were a couple more NJCU yellows, as well as one on the Cougars. The game's next on-target attempt came from Kean in the 75th, and this one snuck in to make it 3-0.

Junior forward Maximo Vargas (Montevideo, Uruguay/The British Schools) had the next chance in the 79th, but was turned aside. Just over a minute later in the 80th, junior back Anthony Salmeron (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-1. However, NJCU did not manage another shot on goal for the remainder of the match and Kean came away the victor.

Up Next:
Jersey City returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 22, in the evening on the road in Ewing, N.J., against The College of New Jersey for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.