JOHN JAY STUNS NJCU, 3-2

Monday, October 10, 2011 (Men's Soccer)

JOHN JAY STUNS NJCU, 3-2

MASPETH, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior forward WALTER AVANS (Roselle Park, NJ/Union Catholic) and junior forward NANA KOFI KUSI (Newark, NJ/Kumasi Academy (Ghana) each netted goals but John Jay College scored three goals in a span of 12 minutes in the middle of the second half to grab a 3-1 lead and stunned New Jersey City University, 3-2, in a non-conference men's soccer game on Columbus Day played at the Metropolitan Oval.

John Jay improves to 3-10-3 and defeated NJCU (3-8-1) for the first time in 15 all-time meetings between the schools dating to the 1983 season. The Bloodhounds had scored just twice in the previous 14 meetings. NJCU, which led 1-0 at halftime, outshot the Bloodhounds, 21-14, and held a 7-2 margin in corner kicks.

In defeat, Avans goal was his eighth of the season and 21^st career point and he moved into fourth place in school history with 81 career points, passing former All-American Edison Bilbao on the all-time charts (80 points, 2005-08). Kofi Kusi's goal was his third of the year.

Junior defender EDUARDO TEJADA (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) and senior midfielder TOM KRYCHKOWSKI (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) each provided one assist—their third assists of the season.

Senior keeper MANNY LOJO (Clark, NJ/Union Catholic) made five saves while freshman keeper Vitecha Vochaon (South Pasadena, CA) made six saves.

NJCU grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 18:50 mark of the first half as Tejada made a great feed to Avans on the right side of the box for a clear shot. NJCU had an 11-5 cushion in shots at halftime.

Freshman midfielder Christian Munoz (Brooklyn, NY) tied the game at 63:30 of the second half when he connected on a free kick from just outside the box for his second goal of the season.

Less than six and a half minutes later, John Jay took the lead as freshman forward Yotam Bloom (Tel Aviv, Israel) scored his third goal of the season from close range after beating a defender to the ball at the 69:59 mark off a feed from sophomore midfielder Ganama Issouf (Bronx, NY).

John Jay extended the lead to 3-1 at the 75:59 mark as Issouf and sophomore forward Navid Allah Morad (Balkh, Afghanistan) assisted on a feed to freshman midfielder Korede Griffith (Georgetown, Guyana), who scored his third goal of the season from 12 yards out.

Trailing 3-1, Krychkowski bent a cross to the far left post at 82:33 where Kofi Kusi put it in to make it a one-goal game with 7:27 remaining. But NJCU was unable to tie it, thanks to a last minute save by Vochaon to preserve the one-goal upset win.

NJCU faces Rutgers-Newark in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Field in Newark, NJ.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—