Box score
NEWARK, NJ—NJIT and visiting Long Island University played to a scoreless tie through 110 minutes Sunday afternoon in non-conference men's soccer on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium.
The final stat sheet showed the total shots at 12-11 in favor of NJIT (1-3-1), while LIU (1-1-2) put four shots on target to three for the Highlanders. The corner kicks, which reflected NJIT's territorial advantage, particularly in the second half, favored the Highlanders, 7-3.
The two goalkeepers, Adam Janssen of the Blackbirds and Lars Maalen-Johansen of NJIT, were credited with 110-minute shutouts. Janssen made three saves and Maalen-Johansen, the junior transfer, picked up the first clean sheet of his five-game career as a Highlander.
Despite the lack of scoring, both teams pushed their attack when given the opportunity in a well-played game.
“We're building toward something very good. I thought we played very well against a good team,” said NJIT coach Cesar Markovic, who also thought his team played well in a 1-0 loss at Buffalo earlier in the week. “When you play well and lose, you feel awful. But when you play well and get a tie, it's easier to accept because you know better days are ahead.”
In the first half, the Highlanders outshot LIU overall, 5-3, but the shots on goal were 2-1 for the Blackbirds. The most dangerous shot came in the 32nd minute with NJIT pressing the attack. Junior Nathan D'Aversa got off a hard shot that was ticketed for the lower right corner before LIU's Janssen, who had a strong game, deflected it over the end line.
“Nate is a player who is starting to come into his own,” said Markovic of the junior who controlled the ball from his position at midfield, serving as a threat when he shot and distributing to his teammates, as well. “This is what we expected him to do coming into the season off of his play in the spring. He took a couple of games to get going, but he's played really well recently.”
The match remained scoreless through 90 minutes, leading to NJIT's second overtime contest of the year (the opening game at Fairleigh Dickinson, a 2-1 loss, went to overtime on August 26).
The Blackbirds had two solid scoring opportunities in the second half, one in the 63rd minute and one 10 minutes later. The first was on a ball chipped into the area for a header by Josh Maley that went just over the top of the goal. The second came when Jakeem Johnson of LIU caught the Highlander defense napping and controlled a loose ball before narrowly missing wide left from 16 yards out.
The momentum then shifted to the Highlanders, who came tantalizingly close moments after Johnson's near miss on the other end. D'Aversa took a back pass from Franco Gamero and blasted a 15-yarder on target, forcing the save of the match from LIU's Janssen, who deflected it clear of the goal.
NJIT maintained its pressure and Emeka Nwachukwu, battling for possession in front, controlled the waist-high bouncing ball and got off a high shot with a man leaning on his back. In the 78th minute, Gamero received a back pass and launched a strong shot that sailed wide of the left post.
Each team had one shot in the first overtime period, but neither presented a threat.
The Highlanders had the best chance of the overtime in the second minute of the fourth period, when Gamero intercepted a pass in the middle and fed Matija Blazic running down the left side. Blazic, the left-footed freshman from Slovenia, might have carried the ball one stride too far, as the angle became too difficult for a shot and his crossing pass was broken up by LIU's goalkeeper, Janssen.
Afterwards, Markovic praised Gamero, Blazic, and Christian Galindo, the junior transfer, who played his first two college seasons under Markovic at Stony Brook. Galindo, who plays at a high rate, never came off the field, working hard from his fullback position and also venturing forward into the attack.
“Franco is dangerous and he's really emerging for us,” said the coach. “I thought Matija Blazic had his best game yet. Christian Galindo was outstanding today.”
The Highlanders will return to action on Wednesday, when they visit Marist for a 7 pm game in Poughkeepsie, NY.
