Box Score

NEWARK, NJ—Joshua Mercer's highlight reel goal in the 68th minute for NJIT was all the scoring for either side as the Highlanders won their final men's soccer home game of 2013, edging Lafayette, 1-0, Tuesday night on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
Mercer, a left-footed sophomore back, fought his way past a Lafayette defender near the top of the box and shot from a difficult angle, launching a low 15-yard dart between the left post and a diving Lafayette goalkeeper Nathan McDonald at 67:23, assisted by Victor Kausch.
 
The goal was the first of the season for Mercer, one of the top Highlanders, who missed six consecutive games over 22 days in September due to injury. The assist was the first college point for Kausch, the German freshman who has played 15 games for NJIT this year.
 
Tuesday's win by NJIT, playing its first game in two weeks and its first home contest in nearly a month, left the Highlanders with a final home mark of 4-1-1. They are 6-9-2 overall with one game still to play at Howard on Sunday at 2 pm in Washington, DC.
 
Lafayette, with nine 2013 contests that have reached the second overtime period, has the unusual record of 4-5-8. Included in the eight draws are six scoreless ties.
 
The first half was close to the vest, with each team taking just two shots in the opening 45 minutes of a tightly-contested physical contest that would see 31 whistles for fouls and six cautions handed out by game's end.
 
There was more attacking both ways in the second half and Lafayette wound up with an 11-7 lead in overall shots, including 5-3 in shots-on-goal.
 
McDonald, the Lafayette senior keeper made two saves, while NJIT's keeper, Alexander Czempik made five saves for his third clean sheet and the team's fifth shutout of the season.
 
After a first half that didn't see a shot on goal for either side, each team had a quality chance in the second half ahead of the goal.
 
NJIT's Ansel Ueshiro received a great pass by Marko Drljic, who put the ball at Ueshiro's feet near the penalty spot on a cross from the left wing above the top of the box, but Ueshiro's 8-yarder was stopped on a fine save by Lafayette's McDonald in the 57th minute.
 
Seven minutes later, Lafayette's Nate Arronson got off a hard ground shot from 12 yards, but Czempik was there to prevent the goal.
 
There were chances after the goal, as well. Still energized a couple of minutes after scoring, NJIT nearly added insurance on a try from the top of the box by Tom Farrell that McDonald punched away for a reflex save.
 
Later, Lafayette's Tom McCutcheon got off a header from in close In the 78th minute, but his try was right at the well-positioned Czempik, who made the save.
 
NJIT coach Didier Orellana was happy after the win that saw his team play 90 minutes of sound soccer all over the field.
 
"I'm very pleased by what I saw," said the coach whose team got its first win in the all-time series after going 0-6-1 in its first seven contests vs. Lafayette, including a 1-0 loss in Easton, PA in 2012.
 
"The guys have been working very hard since we last played (October 22) and we knew coming in that (Lafayette) is a tough team that doesn't give up many goals and plays lots of close games," Orellana said. "We told (the NJIT players) that it would be a grind tonight and that we couldn't afford any lapses. And we didn't have any.
 
"It's been a challenging year with the schedule (6 home games, 11 away from home to date) and some of the injuries to key players. But it's gratifying to see them come out and play well at the end of the schedule against a good team."
 
Orellana singled out central defender Jimmy Myers as a key performer in the win. "For me, Jimmy was 'the guy' tonight," said the coach of the big (6-4, 210) sophomore who was one of Long Island's top high school players before choosing NJIT. "He controlled the area in front of the goal and he cleared the ball off the line after Alex (Czempik) made a save, which is huge in a close game like this one."
 
Before playing the final home game, NJIT held ceremonies to honor seniors Franco Gamero, Trevor Nye, and Luqman Olawin, all of whom started the game.
 
Gamero, who scored a program Division I-record 7 goals in 2012 and found the net in a 2-1 loss at nationally-ranked St. John's back in August, suffered a stress fracture in his foot earlier this season and started for just the second time since September 8.

Nye, like Gamero a fifth-year student majoring in architecture, has played in a career-high 17 games this year. And Olawin, a mechanical engineering major who made the team in an offseason tryout between 2010 and 2011, made his first start on Tuesday.