ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The New Jersey City University women's collected their second nonconference draw of the season today, September 10, after junior Kim Brites (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) collected her team-high third goal of the season in the 48th minute to equalize the early Ceder Crest College goal from the first half. The All-NJAC standout forward led both teams in shots (6) and shots on goal (4) this afternoon.
NJCU (1-1-2) sent out freshman Lorraine Valenzuela (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) in net to make her first career start for the Gothic Knights. The newcomer had five saves this afternoon, which is also a season-high for Jersey City's goalkeepers this year.
The Falcons (2-1-1) came out aggressive to begin the match, getting off three shots on net in the first 20 minutes of play. At the 26th minute, the team from Pennsylvania found the back of the net, giving Ceder Crest an early 1-0 lead. Following the goal, Jersey City's team got off four strikes in the final minutes of the first half from freshman Ariana Flores-Ortiz (Little Falls, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional), Brites, and junior Hailey Goncalves (Union, N.J./Union), but the Falcons keeper kept the Gothic Knights scoreless into the second half.
In the next 45 minutes of play, the Gothic Knights came out firing, as the squad doubled their shots and shots on goal from the first half. Also, Jersey City out-shot Cedar Crest 9 to 3 and did not allow a corner kick in the entire match while NJCU collected seven opportunities from the corner.
With the stellar defensive play throughout the second half by senior captains Arame Diouf (Weehawken, N.J./Memorial) and Victoria Gil (South River, N.J./South River), and freshman Katie Kelly (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus), the squad kept pushing into Falcon territory with their speed and physicality.
Following a shot on goal by freshman Rebecca Lopez (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View) early in the second half, the veteran Brites made the most of an NJCU free kick from midfield that was off the head of Lopez and fired in by Brites to tie the match at 1-1. The Gothic Knights would get off six more shots in the half, but the defensive and goalkeeping play from both teams kept this game at a 1-1 draw finish, respectively. With just 9 seconds remaining, Valenzuela made a crucial save for the squad, keeping the match in a draw.
Junior Shea Ramirez (Bogota, N.J./Immaculate Conception) and senior for the Falcons Morgan Love both received yellow cards in the match.
Up Next: The New Jersey City University women's soccer team will have a quick turnaround, as they quickly return to the pitch tomorrow morning at 1:00 p.m. for a non-conference clash with the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Caven Point.
