PITMAN, N.J. — The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) released its annual All-NJAC teams for women's soccer this morning, Wednesday, Nov. 1, and for the first time in program history, the New Jersey City University women's soccer team saw one of its own earn the title of Goalkeeper of the Year — claimed by sophomore Sophia Mannino (Burlington, N.J./Burlington Township). Additionally, in the first season of the newly-minted Joe Russo Coaching Staff of the Year award — it had previously been Coach of the Year since 1994 — the Gothic Knights' staff was awarded the honor, led by eighth-year head coach Anthony Tuesta. Overall, four NJCU student-athletes garnered All-NJAC recognition today.

Mannino, who was also the only keeper in the conference to earn First Team All-NJAC accolades, played in all 17 regular-season matches for the Gothic Knights, with a 1.92 goals against averaged, six victories, four draws, two shutouts and a .752 save percentage over almost 1,409 minutes in net. In NJAC regular-season play, Mannino was second in the conference in total saves (61) and saves per game (6.78) and has kept the Gothic Knights in every game this season. After missing part of her freshman campaign due to injury, she adds this annual honor to her two NJAC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season. Mannino is currently the all-time leader in program history in draws (6), is sixth in goals against average (1.92) and victories (9), tied for sixth in shutouts (4) and eighth with a .742 career save percentage.

Tuesta, flanked by sixth-year associate head coach Dennis Ulloa and assistant coaches Daniela Betancourt '19, Genesis Torres '22, Juan Alvarez and Arame Diouf '23, became just the second coaching staff in program history to be honored. This season is the first year the award is called Joe Russo Coaching Staff of the Year. Previous to this year, it was simply Coach of the Year and back in 2011, the award was won by the program's all-time wins leader (67) Robert Bielan. He led NJCU to the six-team NJAC Tournament as a #5 seed in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011. This year, Tuesta and co. have put together a squad that earned the highest NJAC Tournament seed in program history (#4), the first-ever home NJAC Tournament game and first ever tournament victory. Additionally, the four All-NJAC selections this season are the most since 2011, when the program also received four honorees.

Selected to the Second Team, sophomore midfielder Nyrohah Alvarenga (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech) leads the Gothic Knights in goals (5), assists (5) and points (15). She came on strong in NJAC play specifically, scoring 13 of those points in conference play. She ranked second in the NJAC in points per game (1.44). During NJCU's late-season run to and through the conference tournament, Alvarenga helped her team go 5-1-3 by registering four goals and three assists over those nine games. She adds this year's honor to last year's Honorable Mention All-NJAC accolades.

Rounding out this year's NJCU All-Conference selections are midfielders freshman Bella Moore (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) and sophomore Becky Lopez (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View). Both currently have identical stat lines of three goals and two assists for eight points to tie for third on the team in scoring, fourth in in points and fifth in assists. Moore, who earned NJAC Rookie of the Week once this season, was one of just two freshmen recognized on the All-NJAC team. Additionally, her two goals and one assist for five points in NJAC regular-season play were one point higher than the NJAC Rookie of the Year. Finally, already a 2022 All-NJAC Honorable Mention selection, Lopez has now made it two straight. She is second on NJCU in total shots (39) and shots on goal (18) and one of her big tallies of the season came in the regular-season 3-1 finale victory over Rutgers-Newark to clinch a berth and hosting bid to the NJAC Tournament.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights, who saw their historic NJAC run come to a close last night in the semifinal round against #10 Rowan University, await their postseason fate over the next week, including a strong possibility of qualifying for the 2023 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Women's Soccer Championship.