Box Score

NEWARK, NJ– David Cornwell scored a goal on a pass from Nico Wright in the 86th minute, capping a wild comeback, giving Fairleigh Dickinson a 4-3 victory over NJIT Saturday night at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
It was a match where the Highlanders (2-1) once held a commanding 3-0 lead, but saw the lead disintegrate after NJIT goalkeeper Lars Maalen-Johansen drew his second yellow card of the match, causing his ejection and forcing the Highlanders to play most of the second half down a man.
 
The Knights scored all four of their goals after the ejection.
 
“It's a devastating loss,” said NJIT head coach Cesar Markovic. “What lessons do we learn from something like this? We learned that no lead is ever safe. The red card changed the entire game and the wheels just came off.”
 
Wright had two goals and an assist in the second half for the Knights (2-1).  The Highlanders seemed to have everything in control during an excellent first half.
 
“We played as well as we could play in the first half,” Markovic said.
The Highlanders scored three times in the first 45 minutes.
 
Senior forward Franco Gamero made a brilliant move to score his first goal of the season and sophomore forward Jason Chippy scored a goal a minute after entering the game as a substitute.
 
The Highlanders wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.  In just the ninth minute, freshman defender Falk Siegel moved up on a corner kick taken by Jason Gonzalez and got his head on the ball. Siegel's header went past Knights' net minder Jacob Lissek for his first collegiate goal and a 1-0 NJIT lead.
Gamero's brilliant play came in the 24th minute. He maneuvered past three FDU defenders and managed to keep his balance in the process. His left-footed blast from 25 yards out sailed to the right of Lissek for a 2-0 NJIT lead. Gamero's goal was unassisted.
 
The Highlanders kept the pressure on their New Jersey neighbors, scoring again in the first half. In the 36th minute, Chippy, who had just entered the game a minute earlier as a replacement for Gamero, got a pass from Joshua Mercer and buried the shot from 15 yards out.  Chippy's first goal of the season gave the Highlanders a commanding 3-0 lead.
 
Senior goalkeeper Maalen-Johansen was once again brilliant in the first half, collecting six saves, including a daring punch-hit save on a Simon Doherty attempt in the 43rd minute.
 
The first half was played at a high intensity frantic pace that seemed to favor the Highlanders, who dominated possession.
 
FDU's best scoring chance came in the 48th minute, when Jeffrey Barrenechea's shot eluded Maalen-Johansen, who didn't see it, but the ball clanked off the left post.
 
However, the game changed dramatically in the 53rd minute, when Maalen-Johnansen was called for a foul outside the box, drawing his second yellow card infraction of the game, causing his ejection from the contest.
 
Freshman Jason Scolaro replaced Maalen-Johansen and finished the game, making one save. The Highlanders had to play the rest of the match down a man.
 
That's when the Knights started to mount their comeback.
 
“Give credit to FDU,” Markovic said. “They took full advantage of having the extra man. They waited it out and did what they had to do.”
FDU got on the scoreboard in the 67th minute, when Jack McVey scored on a penalty kick. McVey's left-footed shot was deflected by Scolaro, but it made its way into the net for the Knights' first goal of the match.
 
The Knights kept up the pressure and found the net again in the 72nd minute, when Cornwell's cross from the left flank was perfectly placed to Wright, who headed it past Scolaro, slicing the lead to 3-2.
 
Just two minutes later, Wright pounced on a loose ball that the Highlanders' defense failed to clear and knocked it home for the equalizer. Wright's second goal of the contest was unassisted.
 
The game remained that way until the 86th minute, when Wright and Cornwell combined for the game-winner, sending the Highlanders to an extremely disappointing defeat.
 
“We have a young group, a very inexperienced group,” Markovic said. “Their inexperience showed late in this game. We didn't handle the adversity well. But we'll be back. That's the nature of the game.”
 
The Highlanders return to action Tuesday night when they play host to Marist with game time at 7 p.m.

Write-up courtesy James Hague