Box Score
 
NEWARK, NJ—Sophomore forward Jason Chippy scored off a corner kick from Marko Drljic in the first half, giving the NJIT men's soccer team a giant 1-0 victory over Seton Hall at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium Tuesday night.
 
The win gave the Highlanders (8-6) its first win over Seton Hall since 1983. Seton Hall dropped to 6-7 overall.
 
It was a solid all-around performance by the Highlanders, returning back home after playing the last four matches on the road.
 
“I think it was the best all-around game of the season,” said NJIT head coach Cesar Markovic. “I asked them to give us 90 minutes tonight and they did. We just came off playing an ACC team on the road (Virginia Tech) and losing a close game, then we come home and beat a Big East team. We're definitely on our way to doing something good here.”
 
Markovic believes defeating a neighboring big-time program like Seton Hall goes a long way.
 
“The biggest thing with our program is that we need to get on the map, get more recognized,” Markovic said. “This is the kind of win that will open some eyes and have people realize that we're playing good soccer here. It's a win that helps in a lot of ways.”
 
The Pirates got the game's first solid scoring chance, when John Gurel fired a shot from 18 yards out, but Maalen-Johansen caught the attempt for a save.
 
That was it for the first half for Seton Hall, as NJIT dominated play for the final 41 minutes of the half.
 
In the seventh minute, junior midfielder Nils Warfving fired a shot that sailed wide right.
In the 22^nd minute, Christian Galindo had a strong left-footed attempt from 35 yards out, but the shot sailed wide right. Six minutes later, Galindo attempted a high shot from 40 yards out that Michael Kuzan snared.
 
Seton Hall had its second chance of the first half, but Max Garcia's shot went wide right.
The Highlanders finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 41^st minute after getting three straight corner kicks.
 
On the third corner, Drljic lifted a left-footed attempt toward the goal that Chippy secured in the box. Chippy's left-footed shot froze Kuzan in his tracks and went past the Pirate net minder for the lone goal of the game. Chippy had just entered the game 10 minutes earlier as a reserve.
 
“That's the second time this year Jason has come into a game and scored a goal on his first touch,” Markovic said. “He seems to be our Johnny-on-the spot.”
 
The assist was Drljic's sixth of the season, which enabled him to tie the school's NCAA Division I record for both assists in a season and career. Gustav Warfving, the older brother of Highlander midfielder Nils, had six assists in 2009.
 
The Highlanders had four corner kicks, three in that one sequence, while the Pirates failed to have a single corner over the first 45 minutes.
 
The Highlanders kept the pressure on in the opening stages of the second half. Senior forward Franco Gamero had a shot from 10 yards out that Kuzan saved and freshman forward Tommy Osipitan had a shot off a direct kick that Kuzan smothered.
 
“It was good to have those chances,” Markovic said. “We were on the attack from the beginning of the game. We also felt confidence with the way our defense and our goalkeeper were playing.”
Maalen-Johansen stopped made five saves in collecting his fifth shutout of the season.
In the 56^th minute, Pirate midfielder Bolu Akinyode fired a left-footed shot from 30 yards out that Maalen-Johansen pushed away with a left-handed diving stop. Four minutes later, Max Garcia's right-footed blast off a free kick from just outside the penalty area missed wide left. It was Seton Hall's best scoring chance of the game.
 
The Highlanders had a strong opportunity in the 73^rd minute, when Warfving got behind the Seton Hall defense and carried the ball 25 yards toward the goal. Warfving fired a right-footed shot that Kuzan dove to stop, keeping the NJIT lead at a single goal.
 
The Highlanders' stingy defensive effort remained through the game, with the backline controlling the action.
 
“The defense was tremendous tonight,” said Markovic, crediting the play of freshman defenders Falk Siegel and Jimmy Myers, sophomore defender Drljic and senior defender Galindo. We had a good level of control from the start and that was the key to the game.
We played without being nervous. Because of that, we were able to have this clean sheet.”
 
In the 77^th minute, Akinyode took another left-footed shot from long distance, but his shot from 30 was punched to the left by Maalen-Johansen.
 
In the 81^st minute, Maalen-Johansen made another save, when he caught a header from point blank range from Konrad Plewa.
 
The match represented the first home game for the Highlanders since Sept. 18.
 
“It just felt nice,” Markovic said. “It's comfortable to be home. It's a place that we know. It's a win that's going to give us confidence moving forward. We had a good crowd tonight with a good atmosphere. It was fun.”
 
The Highlanders return to action next Tuesday night when they travel to Lafayette. They return home Tuesday, Oct. 23 to face Bucknell at 7 p.m.

Write up courtesy James Hague