Box score
ALBANY, NY--Sophomore Jack McVey scored twice, while freshman Nils Warfving and sophomore Papis Ciss added one goal apiece for NJIT in a 4-1 non-conference men's soccer win away for the Highlanders against University at Albany Wednesday afternoon.
All of the scoring for the day took place in the first 32:19, as the schools squared off in men's soccer for the first time.
The win lifts NJIT to 2-1 on the season, the best three-match start to a season for the Highlanders since they began playing a Division I schedule in 2004. The previous best came in 2005, when NJIT opened at 1-1-1.
UAlbany, which had opened 2010 with wins against Fairfield and St. Francis (NY), drops to 2-1 with the home loss to the Highlanders.
Warfving, who now has scored a goal in each of his team's first three games, got things started for NJIT just 27 seconds into the match at Albany, assisted by sophomore Pete Walker.
Warfving's goal on Wednesday marked the second time in as many games that NJIT has scored on the first attack of the day. The Highlanders also scored 31 seconds into their 2-1 overtime win against Army the last time out on September 4.
The quickest goal ever for NJIT goes back 36 years, to 1974, when the Highlanders got on the board 13 seconds in against Bloomfield.
McVey doubled his previous career goals total in a span of less than 15 minutes Wednesday afternoon, after UAlbany had tied the score on a goal by junior Anthony DeSalvo from Christopher Nisser at 7:03.
McVey answered with what proved to be the game-winning goal at 17:31 and he added a second goal at 32:19.
A sophomore midfielder from the Isle of Man, an island in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland, McVey had scored once in 2009 as a freshman and did not have a goal in the first two NJIT games of 2010.
Sandwiched between the two McVey tallies was the first marker of the season for NJIT's Papis Ciss, a resident of nearby Jersey City, who attended high school in his native Senegal. The goal for Ciss came in the 22nd minute.
NJIT's four goals on Wednesday matched the program's second-highest output in a game in Division I competition. The record is five goals in a 5-0 season-opening win against Iona in 2006 and the Highlanders previously scored four in games against Howard in 2008 and Manhattan in 2009. NJIT has scored nine times in its first three matches.
“It was a good all-around effort,” said NJIT's Pedro Lopes, who is in his eighth season with the Highlanders. “We're playing with more confidence up top and cleaner in the back.
“We played well in terms of capitalizing on our chances. Where we had chances and didn't finish against Army, we tended to finish those same kinds of plays today.”
NJIT freshman goalkeeper John Ricketti made four saves in backstopping his second college victory, while Great Danes keeper Adrian Foncette made four saves, as well.
Despite the flurry of early scoring, there were actually more shots in the scoreless second half than in the first. NJIT took eight shots in each half for a total of 16, while UAlbany took six shots in the first and nine in the second for a total of 15.
“We actually could have scored more goals in the second half,” reported Lopes. “We hit the post and the ball rebounded to Jack (McVey) and their keeper made a great save. Later on, we hit a crossbar.
“We knew (Albany) would come out and put a lot of pressure on us to start the second half, and they did. But we kept our composure through that and 15 or 20 minutes into the second half they seemed to lose their energy and we were in pretty good shape after that.”
All but one of the goals were scored from close, including the first one by NJIT's Warfving, a header at the far post off a cross from the left side by Walker, the sophomore from England, who picked up his team-leading second assist of the season.
UAlbany's DeSalvo got his team's score from eight yards out, but McVey's go-ahead goal was the exception to the day, coming on a direct free kick from outside the 18-yard box.
NJIT's Ciss scored his goal from 10 yards away and McVey wrapped up the scoring on a rebound from the doorstep.
NJIT will be on the road again for its next contest, visiting Drexel for a 7 pm match in Philadelphia on Monday, September 13.
