Box Score
 
NEWARK, NJ – Patrick Figgie scored his second goal of the season, a blast from way outside the penalty area, giving Bucknell a 1-0 victory over the NJIT men's soccer team Tuesday night at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
The win enabled Bucknell to get back to the .500 mark at 6-6-4, while the loss dropped the Highlanders back to .500 at 8-8.
 
The setback angered NJIT head men's coach Cesar Markovic.
 
“I'm disappointed in the way our guys are assuming too much,” Markovic said. “They've forgotten what got us to this point. We worked hard to get some recognition and we're losing it.”
 
Bucknell had the better of the early action.
 
In the third minute, Collin Costello fired a shot that NJIT senior goalkeeper Lars Maalen-Johansen saved. In the sixth minute, Jesse Klug put a header on goal that Maalen-Johansen snared.
 
In the 17^th minute, NJIT freshman midfielder Matthew Praino had a good scoring chance, but his hard right-footed shot was stopped with a diving save by Bucknell goalie Mike Lansing, who stopped four shots to earn the shutout.
 
In the 19^th minute, Bucknell had another attempt with another header by Klug, but that attempt sailed wide left of the goal.
 
Four minutes later, Bucknell finally got on the board, when Figgie unleashed a direct free kick from 35 yards on the right side that sailed past Maalen-Johansen for the first goal of the game. Figgie's goal was unassisted.
 
NJIT junior midfielder Nils Warfving had a good scoring chance in the 26^th minute, but Lansing made the save from the right wing.
 
Highlander sophomore midfielder Matija Blazic had a fine shot from the right corner in the 28^th minute that Lansing saved.
 
Highlander sophomore Marko Drljic, who was moved from defender to midfield for the game, had a direct free kick from 45 yards out that Lansing caught.
 
The game remained 1-0 in favor of Bucknell at intermission.
 
The Highlanders had a great chance in the opening minutes of the second half, when Jason Gonzalez fired a shot that went wide right in the 47^th minute.
 
From that point, the Bison put the pressure on the Highlanders, getting three excellent scoring chances. In the 49^th minute, Josh Plump fired a shot that sailed over the crossbar.
 
A minute later, Maalen-Johansen came way out of the goal to stop a potential breakaway attempt. And in the 55^th minute, Klug fired a blast that Maalen-Johansen got a hand on as it sailed high over the bar.
 
In the 60^th minute, Highlander senior forward Franco Gamero had a golden chance to tie the game, but his left-footed blast from point blank range was stopped by a diving save from Lansing.
 
In the 72^nd minute, Bucknell had the best scoring chance since the Figgie goal, when Klug went in all alone on Maalen-Johansen. But the NJIT goalie was again up to the task, when he dove to his left to make a right-handed save.
 
The Highlanders had one last chance to get the equalizer, but sophomore forward Cristian Marcel fired a shot wide in the 87^th minute.
 
The Bison had another chance in the 88^th minute, when Klug's blast from 25 yards out was punched aside by Maalen-Johansen.
 
“I just feel that our guys weren't on their game tonight,” Markovic said. “Bucknell came and played a smart game. Give Bucknell credit, but we weren't on our game. We're not where we need to be. Sure, we have a young team and we're going to have our moments, our ups and downs. But I'm not happy with the effort. We got outworked tonight and that can never happen. We better get it together quickly.”
 
The Highlanders return to action next Tuesday night when they travel to West Point to take on the U.S. Military Academy. The NJIT-Army match begins at 7 p.m.

Write-up courtesy James Hague