OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — The New Jersey City University men's soccer team, led by
Brendan Guzman in his NJCU head coaching debut, battled all afternoon long in the season-opening road match at The College at Old Westbury on Sunday, Sept. 3. The Gothic Knights started the scoring early in second minute and scored the eventual
beautiful game-winner in the 39th. All in all, the Green and Gold got it done, topping the Panthers 2-1 to give Guzman the victory in his first match as the head man.
As mentioned, NJCU (1-0) got things started early on against Old Westbury (0-1). Sophomore midfielder
Jonathan Caballero (Union City, N.J./Jose Marti STEM Academy) began the sequence with free kick from just past midfield. The well placed ball was headed to the right side of the goal by second-year back
Jason Salamanca (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) and senior midfielder
Thiago Duarte (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) cleaned it up for his first tally of the season to make it 1-0.
Just over 20 minutes later, the Panthers tied it up, but in the 39th minute, an outstanding individual effort by junior forward
Danny Tobon (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) ended in the back of the net for what would be the game-winning goal. Senior forward
Ryan Evande (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack), who got the start on the day, took a wide pass and crossed it to the far left side of the box. Old Westbury eventually stole it, but Tobon snatched the ball right back. He then dribbled left, then right, the left again, winding his way through two Panther defenders before ripping a shot to the lower right corner for the tally, making it 2-1.
Highlights:
- NJCU outshot Old Westbury, 7-6, in on-target attempts.
- Fifth-year keeper
Nick Linebaugh (Linden, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) made five saves for his first victory of the season and moves into sole possession of fifth all-time in NJCU program history with 18 for his career.
- Duarte and Tobon each had two shots on goal in 60-plus minutes on the pitch.
- Junior backs
Jason Suarez (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) and
Julio Mauricio (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), along with Linebaugh, were the only players to play the full 90 on the afternoon.
- Freshman forward
Emmanuel Atorkui (Union, N.J./Northstar Academy) saw 38 minutes as a reserve in his collegiate debut and took two shots on goal, as well.
Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to the pitch on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 6, for a 3:00 p.m. road match on Randall's Island Field #70 in New York, N.Y., against Hunter College.
