Fast facts: Will start at forward, and may see time at midfield…A 2004 co-captain for a second straight year…Earned Honorable Mention All-NJAC distinction last year after scoring eight goals and one assist for 17 points, including two game-winners…Was third on the team in scoring…A member of NJCU’s “Strike Force”, along with fellow forwards Chris Rosenthal, and Jose DeBernard, and is a threat to score at any given moment…Possesses a powerful left-footed shot…A 6-foot-3, he has excellent size for a forward and has improved his endurance…Can pick out a player from 50 yards across the field and put the ball at that player’s feet…Had both assists in an August 28 2-1 scrimmage win over William Paterson…East says Ruiz always had a good sense for the game, but is making those decisions faster this year…Enters the season with 17 goals and 12 assists for 46 points in 54 career games…Scored five game-winners…Ranks tied for ninth in recorded school history in points, tied for fifth in assists, and tied for 11th in goals.
2003: Served as team co-captain…Selected Honorable Mention All-NJAC after scoring eight goals and one assist for 17 points, with two game-winners, including the decisive goal at Kean University…Was third on the team in points, and third in goals…Played in 18 of 22 games with six starts…NJAC Offensive Player of the Week on October 13…Mainly used as a reserve because of his ability to provide a spark off the bench in the scoring column…Logged 692 minutes overall…Twice scored the first goal in a game…37 shots, 18 on goal…Ranked sixth in the NJAC in goals per game (0.44), ninth in points per game (0.94), and 10th in goals…In NJAC-only games, was tied for fourth in goals (4) and goals per game (0.44), listed tied for fifth in game-winners (1), seventh in points (9) and points per game (1.00)…(09/10): Scored the game’s second goal in a 7-0 rout of John Jay College…(09/20): Added one goal in a 5-2 win at Mount St. Mary College…(09/24): In NJCU’s first regular season win at Kean University since 1975, scored his fourth career game-winner on his only shot of the game in 24 minutes off the bench…At 46:28 of the second half, scored smoked a long shot that found the top right corner…(10/04): Recorded his fourth career four-point game with two goals on three shots in a 9-0 blowout of NJAC foe Rutgers-Newark…Scored twice in a span of 4:10 to gain a 5-0 edge…(10/06): Finished with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 victory against Rutgers-Camden…Scored the first goal and assisted on the second, to give NJCU a 2-0 lead…(10/10): Collected an insurance goal for NJCU in its 2-0 win against Susquehanna University, a victory which made Kevin East the winningest coach in school history…Goal game him a streak of three straight games with at least one goal, and five out of six games…Points moved him into a tie for seventh in school history…(10/13): Named NJAC Offensive Player of the Week in week six of the season for his efforts against Camden and SU…Also tabbed NJCU Men’s Student-Athlete of the Week…(11/12): Broke a 1-1 second half tie at 51:15 and netted his fifth career game-winner as NJCU defeated USMMA, 3-1, in a road ECAC Quarterfinal game…(11/15): Issued two yellow cards in a 3-2 loss to Montclair State in the ECAC Semifinals.
2002: Ranked third on the 2002 club in scoring with 16 points, after recording five goals and six assists…Third on team in goals and tied for second in assists…Played in 17 of 20 games with five starts…Attempted 30 shots (12 on goal)…One game-winner, one unassisted goal…1-for-1 on penalty kicks…Played 548 total minutes…(08/31): Tallied an assist in a 3-0 shutout of Marymount University at the Kean Cougar Classic…(09/07): Scored one goal in a 5-3 loss at North Carolina Wesleyan…(09/14): In biggest rout in school history (14-1 vs. Hunter College), chalked up one goal and two assists for four points…Scored on his first career penalty kick attempt…(10/02): Attempted a new career-best six shots and assisted on the game-winning late second half goal in a 1-0 home win over Ramapo College…(10/21): Had his second four-point game of the year with one goal and two assists in 9-0 rout of Medgar Evers College…(10/27): Scored a goal in a 7-2 loss at Rowan University…(11/02): Came off the bench to knock in the game-winning goal 7:06 into the second half in a 2-1 win at William Paterson University to close the regular season...(11/14): Netted a shot during a shootout in the ECAC Quarterfinals against St. Joseph’s College…NJCU tied the game, 2-2, but SJP advanced, 4-3, on the penalty kicks.
2001: Finished eighth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference in assists per game at 0.36 with five…Played in 19 of 24 games with 12 starts…Scored four goals and five assists for 13 points…Tied for fifth on the team in scoring and tied for second in assists…Attempted 39 shots with 17 on goal, and was seventh on team in shots…Manufactured two game-winning goals…Logged 871 minutes on the field…(09/05): Had five shots (two SOG) in 7-0 rout of John Jay College…(09/08): Tallied first career point with an assist in a 2-1 win over Western Connecticut…Made first career start…(09/09): Established a career high with four points, by scoring his first career goal, the first of the game and game-winner, in a 9-0 trouncing of Hunter College…Winner came just 6:55 into the game…Had two assists and five shots (two SOG) in starting role…(09/22): Scored with 7:19 remaining in the second half to break a 1-1 tie and lift NJCU to a 2-1 win over Stevens Tech…Had four shots (three SOG) in starting role…Game-winner was his second of the season…(10/03): Counted an assist and three shots in 9-0 silencing of Baruch…(10/11): Posted an assist in 3-1 win at Mount St. Mary (NY)…(10/31): Had three shots in NJAC semifinals at Kean University…(11/03): Received the starting nod in the NJAC Championship game, and with 19:35 remaining in the second half, netted the third goal of his career, the most significant yet, shaving Richard Stockton College’s lead to 2-1…The Ospreys won the game 3-1 and went on to win the national title...Ruiz had two shots in defeat…(11/07): Came off the bench and netted a game-tying goal to make it 1-1 at halftime, as top-seeded NJCU went on to defeat Manhattanville College, 4-2, in the ECAC Quarterfinals…Had three shots, all on goal…(11/11): Attempted three shots (two SOG) in ECAC Championship game loss (2-0) to New York University.
High School: A June 1997 graduate of William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City, NJ with a 2.8 GPA…Played two season of varsity soccer at Dickinson from 1995-96…Also played two years of varsity basketball for head coach William Drennan and one season of varsity volleyball under head coach Gary Goldberg…Named Honorable Mention All-County in basketball and soccer, and All-County in volleyball…played in the Hudson County versus Essex County All-Star game…
Personal: Born on January 11, 1979 in Secaucus, NJ…Full name is Adrian G. Ruiz…Nickname is “Roc”…Parents are Martha and Jose Ruiz…Brother is Dario Ruiz (32)…Major at NJCU is Business Administration-Accounting…Ruiz has a striking resemblance to World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson…Grew up in Jersey City, and now lives in Fairview, NJ…Left-footed.
Favorites:
Hobbies/interest: Soccer
Food: Pasta
