Box Score


NEWARK, NJ—Visiting Adelphi scored once in each half on its way to a convincing 2-0 win over NJIT in the men's soccer regular season finale for both teams Monday night on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
The Atlantic Soccer Conference game, originally scheduled for October 29, was postponed twice due to the arrival and aftermath of the heavy snowstorm that hit the area on the Saturday before Halloween.
 
The win gave the two-time defending ASC champion Panthers a perfect 4-0 regular season record in conference play and a 7-9-1 overall mark. NJIT, which saw a five-match unbeaten home streak (two ties, followed by three wins) halted, dropped to 1-3 in the conference and 4-11-2 overall.
 
Most signs of the storm were gone from NJIT's home field Monday night, but the Highlanders still had to feel snowed under in the face of Adelphi's dangerous chances in the scoring third, control of the midfield and a defense that held NJIT to six shots, three of which were on target.
 
The Panthers scored a quality goal in each half, with junior Issa Tall collecting his third tally of the season at 27:09 and then another junior, Omar Edwards, scoring his third at 66:11.
 
Adelphi freshman goalkeeper Christopher Herrera earned his third clean sheet of the year with two saves (Adelphi also had a team save that denied the Highlanders when the score was 0-0, moments before the first goal). NJIT's junior keeper, Lars Maalen-Johansen, made seven saves, including two point blank tries that allowed his team to stay in contention.
 
All of the final team stats favored the Panthers—15-6 in shots; 9-3 in shots on goal; and, 4-1 on corner kicks.
 
The first half was played at a fast pace for both sides, but Adelphi dominated the quality opportunities and was rewarded with the only goal of the half on a quick-breaking counter in the 28th minute.
 
Brandon Stoneham charged out of midfield down the middle with the ball and dropped it left to Issa Tall, who was making his third dangerous run of the night. Tall received the pass, carried a couple of more strides to his right, drawing Maalen-Johansen off his line, and then shooting back inside the far post.
 
The first-half shot totals favored Adelphi, 8-3, including 6-1 in shots on goal. Maalen-Johansen made five saves in addition to the goal allowed for NJIT, whose only on-target try of the half on the other end, a header by senior Adisa Craig, was blocked at the goal line by Adelphi defender Dan Laurenius, who cleared it about two minutes before his team scored its first goal.
 
NJIT had another chance eight minutes after the first Adelphi score, when Franco Gamero came free with the ball near the top of the box for the Highlanders, but his hard shot from 20 yards went high.
 
Adelphi's second goal, in the 67th minute, was highlight reel-worthy. Edwards, the transfer from St. John's, with his back to the goal, took a feed from Mauricio Mora. Edwards then pivoted 180 degrees and shot in one motion, scoring inside the left post from 16 yards out at 66:11.
 
The Panthers might easily have netted at least two more goals if not for some standout saves by NJIT's Maalen-Johansen. With no score to that point, Adelphi had a great opportunity denied in the 23rd minute when Nicholas Costa beat his man and broke in on left wing, only to be stopped on Maalen-Johansen's sprawling leg save.
 
Johansen made another big stop on Tall at the doorstep in the 77th minute.
 
“Adelphi was fantastic tonight,” said NJIT coach Cesar Markovic. “They held the ball well. They made great passes and they put away their chances. They played a tremendous game in the middle of the field.”
 
NJIT can earn another shot at Adelphi this weekend in the Atlantic Soccer Conference tournament, hosted by the Panthers, beginning on Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock on Long Island.
 
Indeed, the Highlanders could get a chance to redeem their last two 2011 regular season games, both shutout losses. In order to get a shot at Adelphi, NJIT will have to win the 4-5 game of the tournament against Howard. Both NJIT and Howard were 1-3 in the ASC, with the Bison beating the Highlanders 1-0 in Washington, DC, on November 4.
 
The winner of Thursday's NJIT-Howard postseason game, will take on Adelphi, holder of a first-round bye as the regular season conference champ, on Friday.
 
Before Monday night's contest, NJIT honored seniors Papis Ciss, Adisa Craig, Michael Dores, Angel Gomez, Timothy Hojnacki, Emeka Nwachukwu, and Nico Lue Young in pre-game ceremonies on the occasion of their final college home game.