Box Score
NEWARK, NJ—Army midfielder Cole Dietz scored two goals in the last 17:45, including the game-winner directly on a corner kick, and the visiting Black Knights rallied for a 2-1 non-conference men's soccer victory over NJIT Tuesday night on Lubetkin Field.
The Highlanders scored early, taking a 1-0 lead at 11:38 on the first goal of the season for senior captain Kevin Blanco, assisted by sophomore Pat Amato.
The NJIT lead stood up for more than 60 minutes, but with Army having stepped up the pressure in its attack, Dietz pulled his team even with his first goal of the season, assisted by Patrick McVey in the 73rd minute.
Ten minutes later, Dietz produced the winning goal with a rare score directly from a corner kick. The junior teed the ball up in the left corner and sent a curving kick that sailed past NJIT goalkeeper Ryan Sutherland and hooked into the far post and then caromed over the goal line at 82:46.
The final statistics reflected the close score, as Army had a 14-10 advantage in total shots and a thin 6-4 lead in shots on goal. The corner kicks favored the Highlanders, 4-3.
Army goalkeeper AJ Glubzinski made three saves in posting the win, while NJIT's Sutherland finished with four saves.
With seven of NJIT's 11 starters Tuesday night having made fewer than five starts apiece through the season's previous 12 matches, the Highlanders showed an early spark that was rewarded on Blanco's goal.
Amato sent a pass out of midfield and Blanco, coming down the middle, ran onto it and fired over a leaping Glubzinski, staking NJIT to the 1-0 lead.
“The young guys showed that they were deserving of the minutes they got tonight,” said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes. “They proved they can play, which is a good thing as we head to the last part of the schedule.”
The second-half equalizer from Army's Dietz was set up on a long crossing pass from McVey into the left side of the box. Sutherland came off his line looking to cut off the shooter's angle, but the NJIT keeper had no chance once Dietz controlled the ball from his chest to his feet and fired into the open net.
Then came the game-winning goal on the corner kick by Dietz, followed by a dangerous foray by the Highlanders in the last 30 seconds that ended on a shot over the top of the goal from close range.
When Lopes was reminded how rare it is to see a corner kick go in directly for a goal, he agreed. “It was a well-struck ball,” he said. “But it seems that's the way so much of our season has gone. We're seeing things like (the unusual goal) and they're making the difference in the game.”
The Highlanders will return to Atlantic Soccer Conference play in their next game when they visit conference-leading Adelphi on Saturday at 7 pm in Garden City, NY.
