100 goals and 200 points for New Jersey City University
Cover photo: NJCU senior Julia Caseres. Photo by NJCU Athletics.
By Ira Thor, New Jersey City University Sports Information
The New Jersey City University women’s soccer team is heading to the ECAC Semifinals for the second time in its history, and its two most accomplished players of all-time achieved significant history in the process. Senior striker Julia Caseres of Union, NJ had two goals and one assist, including the 100th goal of her career, while senior striker Jennifer Albuja of Union City, NJ, netted a first-half hat trick to reach 200 career points and the "A-C Connection’ became the all-time leading scoring combination in NCAA Division III history with 443 combined points as NJCU routed the College of Staten Island, 6-0, in an ECAC Division III Metro Quarterfinal game played on Wednesday at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
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| NJCU senior Jennifer Albuja NJCU Athletics |
NJCU (14-7) equaled the single-season record for victories with 14, matching the mark set in 2009—the last time the Gothic Knights reached the ECAC semifinals. Staten Island, the 2011 CUNYAC champions, which had a 7-1-1 record in its last nine games, ends the season with a 13-5-1 mark. NJCU leads the all-time series, 7-1 (35-10 goals differential) and have won the last five meetings, outscoring the Dolphins 29-3 in that span.
It was the second meeting of the season between the two schools in the ‘Bayonne Bridge Series’. NJCU also won 5-2 on September 13. It was the first-ever meeting in the post-season as NJCU improved to 2-1-1 all-time in playoff action. NJCU outshot CSI, 32-10, including 16-3 in the second half, and had an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Albuja scored the first, second and third goals of the game for her third hat trick of the season and 13th of her career and added one assist for a seven-point game. She became the first player to score 200 career points only at NJCU, notching her 22nd, 23rd and 24th goals of the season and 88th, 89th and 90th of her career. She now has 201 career points becoming the 33rd player in Division III history with 200 career points and 25th to score at least 90 goals.
Caseres scored the fourth and fifth goals of the game—her 21st and 22nd of the season and 99th and 100th of her career—and assisted on the game winner, to become the 16th player in Division III history to reach the century mark. She moved into a share of 12th place in Division III history with 242 career points (100 goals, 42 assists) in a four-year career at NJCU (2009-11) and Rutgers-Newark (2008).
Albuja and Caseres entered the game with 431 career points—second in Division III history. The tandem combined for 12 points in the win—five goals and two assists—and become the all-time leading goal-scoring combination in the history of NCAA Division III soccer with 443 points and 190 goals. The previous record of 432 points (165 goals, 102 assists) had been set by Jennifer Russell and Karen Carney of Kalamazoo College from 1989-1993.
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| NJCU senior Julia Caseres |
“It is an amazing achievement to be able to score 100 goals and not many people have achieved this milestone in their career,” said Caseres about the career milestone. “I would not have been able to do this without my amazing teammates. Their hard work helped me achieve this and I am glad to have been able to accomplish this milestone with this group of girls. They are one of a kind and made my senior year memorable.”
NJCU led 4-0 at halftime, scoring all four within the first 26 minutes of action. It took just 3:16 of play for the Knights to get on the board. Spethmann launched a long throw in from the right sideline into the box. There, Caseres flicked a header pass to the left post and Albuja stuck a shot inside the pipe at the 3:16 mark before Wysokowski, who dove and got her hands on the ball, could block the chance away. The goal was the 17th career game-winner for Albuja as the ‘A-C Connection’ generated their record-breaking 434th career points.
Albuja made it 2-0 in the 17th minute. Williams played a ball into the box from the middle of the field, 30 yards out, and Albuja ran onto the pass before firing a shot inside the left post at 16:49. Two goals in a span of 1:31 turned the game into a rout. At 24:37, Reyes-Abril played a pass into the box from the middle and Albuja chipped a shot inside the left post from 18 yards.
Then at 26:08, the Knights scored a pretty goal as Alfano chipped a pass into the box onto the feet of Caseres. With Wysokowski racing off her line, Caseres side-stepped the approaching keeper, somehow maintained her balance and stayed on her feet and kept the ball from rolling over the left endline, before chipping a shot into the net on a tough angle.
Caseres’ record-setting goal was unassisted. After a CSI foul, she was awarded a free kick from just outside the top of the box and chipped a perfect top-shelf shot just out of the reach of Wysokowski. Buonacquista scored 16 seconds later from the far right wing, chipping a shot over Wysokowski off an Albuja feed.
