Box score
JERSEY CITY, NJ—Rumen Kerekov's goal early in the second half lifted Saint Peter's to a 1-0 men's soccer win over visiting NJIT Wednesday afternoon.
The victory was the first of the year for the Peacocks, who came in with a deceptive 0-3 record, having lost to UConn and Dartmouth, ranked 12th and 17th nationally, respectively, when Saint Peter's played them, plus a loss to Rutgers. All three defeats came on the road and the Peacocks' home opener against NJIT came after a break of nine days.
Not only did Saint Peter's lose its first three games, but the Peacocks couldn't manage a goal in those games, either, and the drought continued through a first half in which they outshot the Highlanders, 9-5.
Included in the nine Peacock first-half shots were a hit post in the 35th minute by Zabit Ahmati and a shot off target about a minute later toward a yawning net by Kerekov, who had gotten free of his defender with a nice move.
Kerekov, a junior from Bulgaria who was second on his team with nine goals in 2008, finally broke the 2009 ice at 53:09 on an assist by Dmitri Pelts for what proved to be the only goal of the game.
NJIT managed a couple of dangerous forays in the second half, but Saint Peter's continued to apply pressure and outshot the Highlanders, 11-3, over the last 45 minutes.
Saint Peter's freshman goalkeeper Carlos Suarez registered one save in notching his first college shutout. Meawhile, NJIT's senior keeper Ryan Sutherland was a big part of keeping his team in the hunt, stopping nine Saint Peter's shots.
The team stats were a fair reflection of the decisive territorial advantage for the home team, as Saint Peter's outshot the Highlanders, 20-8 overall and 10-1 in shots on goal. SPC also had an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.
“We ran into a team that was hungry for their first win,” said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes. “They kept coming at us in the attacking third and they showed that they wanted it more. They deserved to beat us.”
NJIT, 1-5, has four losses by a one-goal margin and another loss by two goals.
On a positive note for the Highlanders, fifth-year senior captain Scott Rietze, who is working his way back from an injury that cost him all of 2008, made his first appearance of 2009, playing the last 20 minutes against Saint Peter's.
Next up for the Highlanders is a 1 pm match at home on Sunday against VMI on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium.
