October 19, 2005
WEST POINT, NY -
Army's relentless attack paid off with two second-half goals, boosting the Black Knights to a 2-0 non-conference men's soccer win over New Jersey Institute of Technology Wednesday night.
The Black Knights, who 3-1-1 in their five October contests, broke the scoreless tie in the 57th minute, when Adrian Moreno, open on the doorstep, finished a feed from Bill Watts.
NJIT needed a couple of superb saves from Collin Cunning over the next 10 minutes to maintain the one-goal deficit, but Army later got its insurance goal when Chase Hunter dribbled out of the right corner, firing in an unassisted goal at 76:14.
Army, as might be expected, given the Academy's rigorous physical regimen, had a seemingly endless supply of strong, fit players and coach Kurt Swanbeck used 19 different field players.
At the same time, NJIT, which has had its depth tested by injuries already, took two more hits against Army. Bobby Herrera, the team's leader in the midfield, went out in the first half with an apparent bone bruise after an Army player stepped on the back of Herrera's calf during the course of play. Later, Dylan Broadley, one of the team's top freshmen as an outside back, left the game due to illness.
"It was a case where we had one team show up in the first half and another team show up in the second half," said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes. "In the first half, we did a great job stopping them in the defensive end and controlling the ball on offense. In the second half, we didn't match their work rate or passion.
"There really wasn't anything magical in the two goals. They both could have been defended. If they had scored on a couple of the shots that Collin saved, we would have clapped and said it was a great goal. But you have to give Army credit. They only know one way to play and that's to go all out all the time. They put pressure on us and took advantage of our mistakes."
Lopes thought his team especially missed Herrera. "With Bobby going down, we took a big hit," said the coach. "It always hurts not having a player with his skill. In the second half, our younger players were looking for leadership, which he gives by being vocal and keeping the midfield working. We didn't get that when he was out of the game."
The Highlanders are off for a week, before facing a huge test. On October 26 at 7 pm, NJIT will visit Maryland, ranked eighth in the latest NSCAA national coaches' poll. The Terrapins, who will play unranked Boston College before hosting NJIT, have won six straight, including four over teams ranked in the national Top 25.
