Men’s Soccer Continues Stellar NJAC Run, Drops Stockton 2-0
JERSEY CITY, NJ — The stellar 2022 season for the New Jersey City University men’s soccer continued today, Saturday, Oct. 15, as the Gothic Knights took down Stockton University by a score of 2-0 on Robert L. McNulty Field at the Thomas M. Gerrity Athletic Complex. Senior keeper Nick Linebaugh (Linden, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) stood on his head, making a number of outstanding saves to lead his team to yet another conference win.
The win for the Green and Gold (8-2-1, 3-2-1 NJAC) is their first over Stockton (10-4-1, 2-3-1 NJAC) since 2012 and the squad now has its most conference victories since 2008 when the Gothic Knights finished 4-3-1. The Ospreys controlled the offensive opportunities throughout, but it was Jersey City that struck first in the 36th.
MSOC | Lanchipa scored the eventual game winner for @njcu_msoccer in the 36th off a corner to make it 1-0!#GothicKnights | #JerseyCitysTeam pic.twitter.com/VYN5OAfzJx
— NJCUGothicKnights (@NJCUAthletics) October 16, 2022 Junior midfielder Thiago Duarte (Newark, NJ/Newark East Side) starts off the opportunity with a corner kick. He sent it on goal and sophomore back Jerson Lanchipa (Paterson, NJ/John F. Kennedy) took two attempts, his first being saved but his second beating the keeper to make it 1-0. That was one of only two on-target attempts by Jersey City in the first half, but Linebaugh stopped all six of Stockton’s first half shots to keep it scoreless.
The second half quickly got underway with Stockton taking a shot 37 seconds in, but Linebaugh stood tall in net. A couple yellows later and it was the Ospreys that looked to tie it up. However, the goal was actually called off due to offsides. Minutes later, NJCU extended its lead to 2-0 in the 62nd. Sophomore forward Danny Tobon (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) had the ball at the goal line and sent it to the front of the net where junior forward Gabe Cruz (Colonia, NJ/Colonia) put away his first tally of the year.
MSOC | Cruz scored his first of the season for @njcu_msoccer to make it 2-0 in the 62nd!#GothicKnights | #JerseyCitysTeam pic.twitter.com/ehCVrbal1y
— NJCUGothicKnights (@NJCUAthletics) October 16, 2022 Linebaugh made two more stops a few minutes later to keep it a 2-0 game for the Gothic Knights. Senior forward Ryan Evande (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) nearly made it 3-0 with back-to-back shot attempts in the 87th, but he was turned aside. One more save for Linebaugh in the 90th seeled the victory for Jersey City.
MSOC | Linebaugh the came up HUGE again for @njcu_msoccer in the 72nd to keep it 2-0!#GothicKnights | #JerseyCitysTeam pic.twitter.com/PFTdQaKMiZ
— NJCUGothicKnights (@NJCUAthletics) October 16, 2022
Highlights:
– With their assists, Tobon (7) and Duarte (5) are first and second, respectively, in the NJAC in that statistical category.
– Despite not scoring, junior forward Maximo Vargas (Montevideo, Uruguay/The British Schools) is still second in the conference in points/game (1.64) and tied for second in goals (8). Tobon is fifth in points/game (1.18).
– Linebaugh leads the NJAC in total saves (54) and shutouts (6). He is second in goals against average (.484) and saves/game (4.91).
– NJCU was outshot 11-6 on net by Stockton, but Linebaugh’s 10-save shutout preserved the win. He now has three NJAC shutouts this season.
MSOC | Linebaugh also made this outstanding diving stop in the 90th to hold on to the shutout for @njcu_msoccer!#GothicKnights | #JerseyCitysTeam pic.twitter.com/pX75DsmHOm
— NJCUGothicKnights (@NJCUAthletics) October 16, 2022
up next:
Riding a two-game winning streak and three-game unbeaten streak, the Gothic Knights next face off with Kean University on Wednesday evening, Oct. 19, in Union, NJ, for a 7:30 pm kickoff. NJCU is in search of its first win over the Cougars since 2013. Jersey City is tied for third in the NJAC standings at 3-2-1 (10 points), while Kean is tied for seventh with Rowan University at 1-2-3 (six points).