LOPES HAT TRICK PREVENTS UPSET, AS NJCU RALLIES LATE, OVERCOMES JOHN JAY, 6-4
JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Sophomore midfielder ANDREW LOPES (Union, NJ/Union) scored his first three goals of the season and New Jersey City University needed each of them to avoid an upset loss to John Jay College. The Bloodhounds scored two goals in under two minutes to tie the game at 4-4 in the 75th minute, before Lopes, who collected his first career multiple-goal game, netted the winner in the 76th minute before completing a hat trick with a late tally as NJCU overcame John Jay, 6-4, in a non-conference men's soccer game on September 17 at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
NJCU improved to 5-2 overall, outshooting the Bloodhounds (1-4-2), 29-13, one year after John Jay defeated NJCU for the first time ever. The Gothic Knights lead the all-time series, 15-1. John Jay had scored just five goals in the previous 15 meetings before tallying four in the wild game; NJCU has an 85-9 goal differential in the series.
Lopes, who scored just once as a freshman in 2011, netted NJCU's first marker just 1:58 into the game, before tacking on the fifth and sixth goals. Sophomore forward RAPHAEL ARAUJO (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield), the NCAA Division III leader in goals and points, scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season in the 19th and 27thminutes, to put NJCU back in front, 3-2, after John Jay had tied it on a 10th minute penalty kick and scored on a free kick in the 19th minute. Araujo played just 45 minutes of the contest.
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