JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Second-year head coach
Brendan Guzman, fresh off guiding the New Jersey City University men's soccer program to its third straight .500-or-better season, has officially released his team's 2024 schedule. The slate features 19 regular-season games, including 10 home matches to be played on Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex. The Gothic Knights are also set for a pair of inter-divisional preseason exhibitions against Division I and II opponents.
2023 Season in Review:
In his first season at the helm of the Green and Gold after rejoining the program — Guzman was on staff as an assistant for five season from 2016-21 — he guided the Gothic Knights to a 7-7-3 overall record, including 2-6-1 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. After not managing a NJAC victory dating back to 2013, Guzman made it to straight years with at least two or more conference wins for the program. He and his staff helped produce a trio of All-NJAC selections, a pair of NJAC Players of the Week and two College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selections.
Looking Ahead to 2024:
2024 preseason kicks off the campaign with a pair of strong exhibition opponents in Division I Manhattan College (Aug. 21/away) and Division II Caldwell University (Aug. 27/home). Fully prepped for a strong campaign, led by returning leading scorer, co-captain and rising-fifth-year forward
Jorkaef Fallas (North Bergen, N.J./Hudson Catholic), rising junior centerback
Jonathan Caballero (Union City, N.J./Jose Marti STEM Academy), rising senior center-mid and co-captain
Jason Suarez (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) and rising fifth-year midfielder
Thiago Duarte (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side), the Gothic Knights open the year at the Gerrity against Saint Elizabeth University (Aug. 30) — the programs met for the first time in the 2022 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) First Round as NJCU won, 2-0. The Green and Gold follow that up with their first road match of the season in Purchase, N.Y., at Manhattanville University (Sept. 4) for just the third meeting all-time — they lead 2-1, though the programs have not faced off since 2015.
That match kicks off four straight against neighboring Skyline Conference opponents as NJCU then heads to Riverdale, N.Y., for a Sept. 7 match at the University of Mount Saint Vincent — the Gothic Knights lead 3-1 all-time, winning the last two in 2018 and 2019. NJCU returns to McNulty Field on Sept. 10 against St. Joseph's University-Long Island — the Green and Gold lead 10-1 all-time, including three straight. That run finishes up in Bronxville, N.Y., at Sarah Lawrence College (Sept. 13) and the Gothic Knights are 3-0 over the last three seasons against the Gryphons. NJCU returns to the Gerrity on Sept. 14 as the City College of New York comes to town — the Gothic Knights are 14-2 all-time against the Beavers, beating them a combined 20-0 the last three seasons. Home play continues against Lehman Collge (Sept. 18) — after not facing off since 1996, NJCU is now 4-0 against the Lighting dating back to 2010, though they have not played since 2016. Road matches at John Jay College (Sept. 21) and Medgar Evers College (Sept. 23) and a home match against Hunter College (Sept. 25) make it five straight matchups against CUNYAC opponents leading into NJAC play. NJCU topped the Bloodhounds 5-1 in 2021, but have not squared off since. The squad is also 10-0 against the Cougars and 12-6 against the Hawks all-time, but are 8-0 dating back to 1999.
Finally, conference play begins at reigning champion Montclair State University (Sept. 27) before welcoming Rowan University (Oct. 2) and Stockton University (Oct. 5) to the Gerrity. NJCU split with the Profs two seasons ago and had a strong win over the Ospreys in 2022, as well. It's back to the road, once again, as the Gothic Knights head to Union and Mahwah for matches at Kean University (Oct. 12) and Ramapo College (Oct. 16), respectively. The Green and Gold played to a scoreless draw at home against the Cougars last season and are 1-1-1 over the last three seasons against the Roadrunners. Up next will be the Annual NJCU Homecoming game — which will be an 11:00 a.m./2:30 p.m. home women's/men's doubleheader — as Rutgers-Camden comes to McNulty Field on Oct. 19. The Gothic Knights travel out to Ewing and The College of New Jersey (Oct. 23) next in search of their second straight win over the Lions — NJCU won 2-0 at home last season. Senior Day at the Gerrity follows as Rutgers-Newark (Oct. 26) comes to Jersey City before the regular-season winds down at home against William Paterson University (Oct. 30) — the Green and Gold have topped the Pioneers in two straight by a combined score of 5-2 and look to make it their longest winning streak against WPU since the 60s.
Should the Gothic Knights finish within the top six of the conference standings come regular-season's end, the 2024 NJAC Men's Soccer Tournament will take place on Nov. 2, 5 and 8.
Head Coach Brendan Guzman on his 2024 season expectations:
Fans can attend all NJCU men's soccer home matches at the Gerrity. All Gothic Knights home matches will also be streamed live on GothicVision, which can be found at www.NJCUGothicKnights.com/GothicVision or via the GothicVision app, available in both the iOS app store and on Android, as well as Roku. To view the full 2024 NJCU men's soccer schedule, along with start times, location, live stats and broadcast information, please click here (or via the link at the top).
