Box Score


SOUTH ORANGE, NJ—Samuel Geiler scored two second-half goals, sealing a 3-0 men's soccer win for Seton Hall over visiting NJIT Wednesday night on Seton Hall's Owen T. Carroll Field.
 
The goals were the team-leading fifth and sixth for the Pirate freshman from Germany, who also assisted on the game's first goal, a tally by senior George Valasquez that gave Seton Hall the upper hand in the 26th minute.
 
Seton Hall (5-6-2) raised its home record to 4-2-1 in its final non-conference game. The Pirates, who play in the powerful Big East Conference, have five conference matches still to play.
 
NJIT (5-8-2) allowed more than two goals for just the second time this year.
 
The win for Seton Hall is its first over NJIT in 41 years (3-1 on October 11, 1972). That calls for more information to add perspective, since the programs went from 1984 to 2011 without facing each other.
 
However, NJIT coaching legend Mal Simon guided the Highlanders to a 21-3 all-time record vs. Seton Hall when the school known as Newark College of Engineering and later NJIT had small-college programs in the NAIA and, from 1974 on, in NCAA Division III. Last year, in the first-ever meeting when both programs were in NCAA Division I, the Highlanders prevailed, 1-0, in Newark.
 
On Wednesday, Seton Hall goalkeeper Julian Spindler, like Geiler, a freshman from Germany, needed 4 saves to post the shutout. NJIT keeper Alexander Czempik, also from Germany, stopped 6 shots.
 
The total shots favored Seton Hall, 16-10. The Pirates outshot the Highlanders in the opening half, 14-2, before a second half that saw NJIT outshoot SHU, 8-2. However, both Pirate second-half shots resulted in goals. The corner kicks were 12-3 for the Highlanders, 8-2 in the second half.
 
Velasquez scored first, knocking in a header at the near post off of a crossing pass from Geiler at 25:48.
 
Geiler provided some insurance for the winners in the 70th minute, assisted by John Gurel and Shawn Morrison. The goal came against the run of play, as the preceding 3-plus minutes saw the ball in the attacking half for NJIT, with three Highlander corner kicks in a span of less than two minutes, the third coming 96 seconds before Geiler's back-breaking goal.
 
The Pirates passed well inside the NJIT penalty area and the ball found Geiler free 15 yards from the goal. He finished the play with a quick shot that split the goal in half and went under the diving Czempik, who could only guess direction, not unlike a penalty kick situation.
 
The third goal, Geiler's second of the night, came on a counter attack with NJIT pushing its 10 field players into the offensive half of the field. Taking advantage of the numerical advantage on the counter, Geiler drew Czempik off his line and then chipped the ball over the keeper's head at 84:40.
 
A few minutes before going down 3-0, NJIT had a fine chance when Marko Drljic sent a beautiful long through pass ahead to Tommy Osipitan in the 82nd minute. But Spindler, the Seton Hall keeper broke up the play with a do-or-die dive at Osipitan's feet that enabled Spindler to smother the ball.
 
"We lost to a good team," said NJIT Didier Orellana. "They play in one of the best conferences in the country and they're well-organized and mature. It was a case of one team (Seton Hall) capitalizing on its chances and the other team (NJIT) creating chances and not getting anything to show for it. A lot of times, that's the difference between winning and losing."
 
The Highlanders, who have three games remaining on their 2013 schedule, are off until next Tuesday, October 22, when they visit Navy in Annapolis, MD, for a 7 pm game.