Box Score Box score

NEWARK, NJ—NJIT sophomore Tommy Osipitan scored twice in the second half, breaking a scoreless tie in the 56th minute and adding his second goal seven minutes later to key a 3-0 win for the Highlanders, who topped visiting St. Bonaventure in men's soccer Sunday afternoon on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
Osipitan, who sees regular substantial playing time, came off the bench against St. Bonaventure. Entering in the 14th minute on Sunday, he stayed in the rest of the first half and started the second half, too.
 
He broke the scoreless tie on an unassisted goal at 55:26 and struck again at 62:13, assisted by Marko Drljic.  Sven Beverst, a freshman from Germany, capped the scoring with his first college goal, converting an assist from Enrique Hidalgo with 1:08 remaining.
 
The second-half outburst against St. Bonaventure lifted NJIT to 2-0 at home this year and 2-1-1 in the last four games, the only loss coming on the road earlier in the week on Wednesday, 1-0 at Fairleigh Dickinson, ranked #22 in the latest NSCAA National Poll.
 
St. Bonaventure, unbeaten before this weekend, lost for the second time in less than 48 hours, after having dropped another 3-0 decision at Delaware on Friday. The rough weekend left the Bonnies with a 4-2 record for the season.
 
NJIT freshman goalkeeper David Tuchinsky made seven saves for a clean sheet in his first regular season start. Tuchinsky, who started both preseason contests, including a strong effort in a 1-0 exhibition loss at UConn, saw his first official action at FDU on Wednesday, playing the whole second half without yielding a goal in his regular season debut.
 
St. Bonaventure's junior goalkeeper Jeremy Figler finished with three saves Sunday to go with the three shots that got past him on a day that saw the visitors finish with an edge in total shots (18-14) and corner kicks (9-5).
 
Osipitan, who is a strong 6-2, 185-pounder blessed with speed that made him a New York State high school semifinalist in the 55-meter dash, had not previously scored in a college career that now includes 21 games played. That after having scored 26 goals as a high school senior in 2011, which earned him area Player of the Year recognition from the Albany (NY) Times-Union and the Troy (NY) Record.
 
The 0-0 tie and Osipitan's personal drought ended at the 55:26 mark, after he carried the ball into the box and, using his strength to fend off a would-be defender from the side, got off a low liner from the left of the penalty spot that found its target inside the far post.
 
At 62:13, Drljic sent a wonderfully-timed 20-yard pass to Osipitan's feet in the box and the sophomore did the rest, getting off a quick shot that rang the bell for his and NJIT's second tally of the day.
 
The third NJIT score came in the final 68 seconds on a counterattack with St. Bonaventure pushing 10 men in the offensive half of the field. Hidalgo gained control and sent the ball ahead to the speeding Beverst, who stayed on-side, ran onto the ball and finished easily.
 
Before that final Highlander goal, Bonnies senior Brad Beaumont missed out on three excellent chances between the 77th and 86th minutes. He misfired high on an open shot in the 77th minute; beat a defender in the box and took a hard shot to the lower right corner that Tuchinsky parried away with a diving save; and, headed the ball off the goal post in the 86th minute.
 
 
Although NJIT did a lot of damage in the second half, the first half was a different story and St. Bonaventure had to feel frustrated not to have at least one goal before the break.
 
The Bonnies, who pressed in the attacking third early to put NJIT on its heels, finished the scoreless opening half with a big lead in shots, 10-2, and corner kicks, 5-1.
 
NJIT coach Didier Orellana was not happy with his team's work in the scoreless first half, but a halftime talk produced better results in the second stanza.
 
"We gave the ball away too much and the result was we were constantly in our defensive end," said the coach whose team has wins on consecutive Sundays against teams from the well-regarded Atlantic 10 Conference (George Washington last week and then St. Bonaventure). "The combination of David (Tuchinsky) making some saves to help keep us in it and some breaks got us through the first half. But we talked at halftime and we came out and were going forward and creating some chances. And it was good to see us make something of those chances.
 
"Marko (Drljic) did a good job finding space in the attacking third and Tommy (Osipitan) has done a lot of work to improve his skill on the ball and he was able to use that skill with his goals today."
 
The Highlanders, who would turn around the shooting stats in the second half, 12-8, showed more offense as soon as the second half began. But before either team scored, there was a flurry of action both ways. NJIT was thwarted on Figler's best save of the day, a diving stop at the post to deny a header from Drljic in the 50th minute.
 
Osipitan had a chance similar to the ones he later converted, working free for a shot in the box that was deflected just over the crossbar by a Bonnies defender in the 54th minute. A minute later, NJIT's Tuchinsky made a nice save on a head shot by Zach Sullivan, about 50 seconds before Osipitan actually broke the ice with his first goal.
 
The Highlanders are off until Friday, when they begin play in the ProRehab Aces Classic in Evansville, IN. The Highlanders will take on host Evansville on Friday at 7:30 pm. After a day off they will face Green Bay in the second day of the classic.