JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's soccer team accomplished three major feats for the program's history on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 25. For the first time since 2016, and just the fourth time ever, the Gothic Knights defeated Rutgers-Newark, topping the Scarlet Raiders 3-1 on Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex. Additionally, for the first time since 2011, NJCU was able to secured a spot in the six-team New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament. Finally — and perhaps most impressively — coupled with Rutgers-Camden's loss to #15-ranked The College of New Jersey and Stockton University's loss to #11 Rowan University tonight, the Green and Gold are now set to host the first home NJAC Tournament match in program history, which will be a first round meeting with the aforementioned Scarlet Raptors on McNulty Field this Saturday afternoon, Oct. 28, starting at 2:00 p.m. NJCU has never won a conference tournament match.
An even first half that saw NJCU (7-6-4, 3-3-3 NJAC) outshoot the Scarlet Raiders (7-11, 3-6 NJAC) 4-2 in on-target attempts did not get its first goal until the 29th minute. The Gothic Knights were awarded a corner kick and senior back
Michelle Taras (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) took aim from the near side. Sophomore midfielder
Nyrohah Alvarenga (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech) had a header on net that was turned aside, but after a scramble for the ball, sophomore midfielder
Becky Lopez (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View) pounced on the rebound to make it 1-0.
The Gothic Knights hit pay-dirt once again in the 63rd minute thanks to another nice play from Lopez. The midfielder made a beautiful move to get through two defenders. She sent a ball into the box that was headed away by a Rutgers-Newark back. The ball ricocheted off the leg of sophomore forward
Ari Flores-Ortiz (Little Falls, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) and junior wing
Amanda Papamanolis (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) jumped all over it to score the first goal of her NJCU career.
After the Scarlet Raiders got one back on a penalty in the 78th, cutting the lead to just 2-1, NJCU held tough and eventually it was Flores-Ortiz herself that put the icing on the cake in the 88th. Papamanolis took the ball down the far sideline past midfield and passed it along to Flores-Ortiz. The striker then turned on the jets to get around her defender. Then, just as she crossed inside the box, mobbed by a pair of Newark backs, she let go a shot that snuck in just under the crossbar for the insurance goal.
With the victory, the Gothic Knights now have 12 points in the NJAC standings and are guaranteed a spot in the six-team conference tournament. Their seven overall victories tie for the most since that 2011 season, while their three NJAC wins are also the most since 2011.
Highlights:
- Alvarenga led NJCU with 10 total shots, landing three on goal.
- Flores-Ortiz also had three shots on goal in the victory, while Papamanolis had two.
- Sophomore keeper
Sophia Mannino (Burlington, N.J./Burlington Township) made a handful of outstanding stops and finished with seven saves.
Up Next:
As mentioned, NJCU has secured the #4 seed — the highest in program history — in the NJAC Tournament and will host #5-seed Rutgers-Camden this Saturday at the Gerrity. Stay tuned to
www.NJCUGothicKnights.com for more information regarding the upcoming home NJAC First Round match-up
