NJCU OUTSHOOT STOCKTON, 21-5, BUT FALLS, 2-1

Saturday, October 01, 2011 (Men's Soccer)

NJCU OUTSHOOT STOCKTON, 21-5, BUT FALLS, 2-1

POMONA, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University outshot Richard Stockton College, 21-5, but the Ospreys jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held off a late Gothic Knight rally for a 2-1 victory in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Saturday.

Stockton improves to 7-3-1 while winning its first conference game (1-2-1). NJCU falls to 3-5-1 (0-3 NJAC). Stockton leads the all-time series, 27-6-5. NJCU held a 9-6 advantage in corner kicks.

Trailing 2-0, senior forward WALTER AVANS (Roselle Park, NJ/Union Catholic) made it a one-goal game at 80:30 of the second half off a free kick assist by junior defender EDUARDO TEJADA (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington). The goal was the 34^th of Avans' career and 78^th point, tying him with Marc Palumbo (1999-2002) for fifth place in points in school history.

Stockton sophomore forward Pat Rafferty (Brick, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) had a goal and an assist to lead the Ospreys. Stockton senior goalkeeper Lou Herring (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) made seven saves for his first victory of the year. Stockton also had one team save as the Knights put nine of their 21 shots on goal. Gothic Knight senior MANNY LOJO (Clark, NJ/Union Catholic) made one save in defeat.

Stockton took a 1-0 lead just 7:36 into the match when Rafferty made a nice feed to freshman forward Matt Jenne (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) who hit the net for the early lead. The goal was Jenne's second of the year.

In the second half, Rafferty's team-leading seventh goal of the season made it 2-0 with just over 12 minutes remaining (77:47) following a crossing pass from sophomore midfielder Dominic Nocito (Delran, NJ/Delran), who picked up the assist.

The Gothic Knights scored less than three minutes later as NJCU caught the Ospreys off guard by playing a quick restart following a Stockton foul just outside the box and Avans buried a sharp-angle shot from the right wing for his team-leading seventh goal and 18^th points of the season.

But NJCU, which outshot Stockton in the first half, 10-2, and 11-3 in the second period, was unable to get the equalizer to force overtime. The loss was NJCU's second consecutive one-goal conference setback and its third one-goal loss this season.

NJCU will be back in action on Wednesday, October 5 in a challenging non-conference match as the Knights face cross-Hudson County rival Stevens Institute of Technology at 7 p.m. in Hoboken, NJ. The Ducks are currently ranked No. 22 in Division III.

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