August 25, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Freshman Osvaldo Perez scored once in each half to lead a five-goal attack for New Jersey Institute of Technology in its 5-0 season-opening men's soccer win over Iona in Friday night's season opener for both teams at Lubetkin Field.

The five goals for the Highlanders represented their best single-game output at the NCAA Division I level, where they have played since 2004. Friday's goal total was the highest for NJIT since it scored an 8-0 win in a Division II game against St. Thomas Aquinas on October 30, 2001.

Perez scored two goals, while the Highlanders got a goal each from Fernando Londono, Gustav Warfving and Jo Rene Valentin. Warfving and Valentin each picked up an assist, as did Rafael Barrera and Oskar Johansson.

Londono, a sophomore from New Rochelle, NY, opened the scoring for the Highlanders in the 31st minute, finishing an assist from Barrera.

Less than 10 minutes later, Perez made it 2-0, taking a pass from fellow newcomer Valentin, who had received a long pass out of the midfield from yet another new Highlander, Johansson.

A highlight reel goal opened the second-half scoring, as Warfving intercepted Iona's attempt at a clearing pass and one-time an unstoppable shot into the upper left corner of the goal from 25 yards out in the 55th minute.

Warfving assisted on the next goal, feeding Valentin who deked Iona goalkeeper Nils Binstock and then walked in and tapped the ball into the empty net at 61:44. Perez wrapped up the scoring on another thrilling unassisted goal, weaving his way through at least three defenders before beating a helpless Binstock at 70:23.

Four of the five NJIT goals were scored by 2006 newcomers, who also accounted for three of the team's four assists. Another newcomer, Josh Osit, went the distance in goal for the Highlanders, making 4 saves en route to the shutout. Osit, who played as a freshman at UMBC in 2004, sat out last year and made his Highlander debut Friday against Iona.

The shots were 12-10 in favor of Iona, but the Highlanders had 8 shots on goal to 4 for the visiting Gaels. Binstock made 3 saves in the Iona net. Corner kicks were 6-4 for Iona

"The first game is always one of the toughest," said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes. "Iona is a team that brings a lot of energy and makes you play fast. After the first 15 minutes, where we did well to avoid giving up a couple of goals, we played to our strengths and took control.

"We finished about 70 percent of our scoring chances which is a good sign, since last year we had so many close games that we either tied or lost by a goal because we couldn't finish our opportunities."

When asked about the entertaining style his team showed the opening-night crowd, Lopes said: "They got to see a lot of goal and we are a team that counters well and finds the open man quickly, which is attractive for the fans. We had a great crowd tonight and that feeds the players' energy. We really appreciate their support and we want to get crowds like this for the whole season. Support like this can really help a team."

NJIT's next action is a home match on Sunday, September 3 at 1 pm against perennial power Boston University.