MAWHAH, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's soccer team, lead once again by junior forward Maximo Vargas (Montevideo, Uruguay/The British Schools) as he scored twice, fell behind early on against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) foe Ramapo College on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 8. The Gothic Knights then scored twice within an 11-minute span to start the second half and took a 2-1 lead with just under 30 minutes to play. However, the hosting-Roadrunners tallied a 75th-minute goal to tie it up at 2-2, which is how the match would finish.

Senior NJCU (6-2-1, 1-2-1 NJAC) keeper Nick Linebaugh (Linden, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) had another solid performance in net, making 10 saves to preserve the draw for his team against Ramapo (1-6-2, 1-2-1 NJAC). The Roadrunners put the pressure on early, forcing Linebaugh to make three saves in the first 25 minutes before finally breaking through on a rebound in the 26th to make it 1-0. The Gothic Knight netminder made one more stop before junior midfielder Jorkaef Fallas (North Bergen, N.J./Hudson Catholic) took NJCU's first on-goal attempt late in the 35th.

Ramapo started off the second with a couple of strong chances — a blocked header followed by a save from Linebaugh in the 47th — before Vargas struck for the Gothic Knights in the 48th, as the All-NJAC forward put away a shot inside the box off a pass from freshman midfielder Juan Vizcaino (Clifton, N.J./Clifton). Later on in the half, Jersey City had back-to-back corner kicks off the foot of junior midfielder Thiago Duarte (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side). The second one early in the 59th was sent right in front and Vargas put it away on a header to make it 2-1 at the time.

Things started to get physical several minutes later as a flurry of yellows were called, first on junior back Anthony Salmeron (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) in the 63rd, followed by a save for Linebaugh on the free kick. Then Fallas was tagged with a yellow in the 65th and seconds later, a Ramapo player and freshman midfielder Jonathan Caballero (Union City, N.J./Jose Marti STEM Academy) were called for simultaneous yellows. A brief scoring chance for for the Roadrunners in the 66th — a blocked shot and a rebound sent over the net — was followed by another yellow on Ramapo in the 67th.

Both teams took one more shot on goal over the next few minutes before the Roadrunners tied it up at 2-2 in the 75th. Jersey City had a corner kick, a blocked shot attempt and an offsides call over the remainder of  the match but was unable to take the lead once again.

Up Next:
NJCU returns to action on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12, for a 3:00 p.m. clash at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex against NJAC rival William Paterson University. The squad then welcomes Stockton University to the Gerrity on Saturday, Oct. 15, for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.