MAHWAH, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's soccer team, led by a stellar goalkeeping effort for the shutout, defeated Ramapo College in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2022 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Men's Soccer Championship today, Sunday, Nov. 13. The Roadrunners hosted the two-round pod this weekend as the top seed, getting a bye into today's quarterfinals, while NJCU was seeded #2. The Gothic Knights defeated Ramapo 1-0 in overtime for its first win over the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival since 2012.

Jersey City (12-5-2) earned a spot in today's match following its 2-0 win in the First Round yesterday, Saturday, Nov. 12, over Saint Elizabeth University, also on Ramapo's campus. Today, the Gothic Knights were outshot 12-3 in on-target attempts by the Roadrunners (6-7-4), however the combination of senior keeper Nick Linebaugh (Linden, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) — nine saves — and rookie netminder Khalid Kwaik (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) — three saves — pitched a team shutout to keep NJCU in it.

At the same time, the Gothic Knights' first true opportunity came early in the second half as sophomore forward Danny Tobon (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) landed one on goal in the 57th. The first-year Green and Gold wing player then rang one off the crossbar in the 75th for NJCU's next solid scoring chance. However, after 90 minutes of play, neither squad was able score and for the first time this season, the Gothic Knights headed to overtime.

In a strange turn of events, Linebaugh was called for a red just one minute into overtime for touching the ball with his hands outside of the 18-yard box. Due to that, Kwaik came in for the first time since September 9 and promptly saw a barrage of Roadrunner shots. The rookie immediately had to make a stop on the free kick that stemmed from the aforementioned red card. He then saw three Ramapo corners, which turned into two more shots on goal in the 94th and 97th, but he again stopped them both to keep it scoreless.

Finally, in the final minute of the first overtime period, freshman midfielder Juan Vizcaino (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) struck gold — quite literally — in the 100th minute as Tobon set up his teammate for the game-winning golden goal. The tally, Vizcaino's fourth of the season and Tobon's team- and NJAC-leading ninth assist, put NJCU up 1-0 for the victory.

Up Next:
Jersey City now takes a week off before returning to action next Saturday, Nov. 19, for the ECAC Semifinal at a to-be-determined location. This is the first time since 2012 that the Gothic Knights have advanced to the ECAC Semifinal.