New Jersey scoring record falls

Senior striker Julia Caseres had the first two goals of the game and added an assist to become the all-time leading scorer among men or women in New Jersey collegiate soccer history and senior striker Jennifer Albuja bagged two more goals as New Jersey City University continued its historic start to the 2011 season, remaining perfect at 8-0-0 on the year with a 4-0 non-conference victory over SUNY-Old Westbury on the road on Sunday.

The Knights won despite being outshot, 19-14 as rookie goalkeeper Brittany Hoffman made eight saves and NJCU added one team save for the fourth shutout in eight games. Old Westbury fell to 1-3 with the loss. NJCU leads the all-time series, 3-0 (13-1 goals differential). The eight-game winning streak for the Knights is also a school record.

Caseres entered the game with 211 career points, and with the five-point effort, increased her four-year totals to 88 goals and 40 assists for 216 points between NJCU (2009-11) and Rutgers-Newark (2008) in 72 games. Caseres eclipses current U.S. Women’s National Team captain Christie Pearce Rampone, who had 212 points in 80 games for Division I Monmouth University from 1993-96—on the all-time scoring charts among men’s or women’s collegiate Division I, II or III players in the history of New Jersey soccer. Caseres also extended her NJCU program record with her 16th game-winner in three seasons.

Albuja scored her sixth and seventh goals of the week—giving her 12 goals this year and 78 goals and 169 points in 67 career games at NJCU.

Junior midfielder Amanda Spethmann chipped in her fifth assist of the season. Freshman midfielder Olympia Sciortino earned her first collegiate assist on the eventual game-winning goal.

In a competitive first half, NJCU finally broke through in the 42^nd minute with the first goal of the game as Sciortino delivered a short chip into the box where Caseres finished her ninth goal of the season at 41:43. NJCU led 1-0 at halftime.

The game remained a one-goal contest for more than 33 minutes into the second half before NJCU scored an important second tally at 78:10. From 25 yards out, Caseres won the ball and made a pair of moves to elude two defenders, before burying a top shelf shot.

NJCU put the game away with two goals in just over three minutes. In the 86^th minute, Albuja uncorked a shot that was initially stopped by the Old Westbury keeper, before she put away the rebound of her own shot.

Then at 88:23, in a goal very similar to the double-overtime game-winner NJCU scored against William Paterson just 24 hours earlier, Spethmann made a throw-in from the far right side, which Caseres flicked with a header into the box, setting up Albuja for a near-range blast and a 4-0 final result.

Senior left defender Nicole Sarica had a team save for the Knights to help preserve the shutout.

NJCU will seek to improve to 9-0 and remain undefeated in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (1-0) when it faces Ramapo College in a road NJAC game on Wednesday, September 21 at 4 p.m. in Mahwah, NJ.

- Ira Thor, Sports Information Director at NJCU