PHILADELPHIA—They played 110 minutes of men's soccer Saturday night, but neither visiting NJIT nor host Saint Joseph's found the goal necessary for a win and the teams ended with a scoreless tie on Sweeney Field on the Saint Joe's campus.
 
The tie left NJIT's record at 4-2-3, as the Highlanders played their sixth consecutive game without defeat (three wins, three ties). NJIT's last loss was 2-0 at Rhode Island on September 4 and they hold a win over then #22 Navy and ties with two once-beaten foes, Rider and now Saint Joe's, since last weekend's big victory over Navy.
 
Saint Joseph's (5-1-3) has gone even longer without tasting defeat, having sustained its only loss, 1-0, against Army on September 1 in the second game of the season. With Saturday's scoreless tie against NJIT, the Hawks have allowed just one goal in the their last five contests and that one goal was surrendered in a 5-1 blowout victory over Marist. The Hawks previously played a scoreless tie against intracity rival Drexel on September 13.
 
The finals shots were 20-12 in favor of the home team, but the shots on goal were even at six apiece.
 
Both goalkeepers went the 110-minute distance, with each—NJIT's Christian Foust and Bobby Edwards of Saint Joe's--making six saves.
 
For Foust, the Highlander sophomore, the shutout was his second going the distance and he also played close to 85 minutes in a 1-0 shutout against Marist before leaving with an injury.
 
Edwards of Saint Joe's is a freshman, but he is familiar with NJIT, having played in high school for New Jersey prep superpower St. Benedict's, which is a neighbor in Newark and plays home games on the Highlanders' Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
Although the game was played on mostly even terms, Saint Joseph's had what was easily the best scoring chance for either side and it came early in the second half.
 
A penalty kick was awarded in the 52nd minute when NJIT's Foust was whistled for a foul on Hawk senior Mike Glazer, the leading scorer for SJU this season.
 
Another Saint Joseph's senior, Jake Nelson, took the pk and sent a ground shot to Foust's right. Unlike the previous game when Rider converted a penalty kick for a goal, the Highlander goalkeeper guessed correctly and deflected the ball wide and over the end line.
 
In the moments that followed, Saint Joseph's got four corner kicks in a span of three minutes, but the Highlanders defended each well and did not allow a shot from any of the corners.
 
There was some later pressure from the Hawks that began with a near-miss from Bliss Harris of SJU in the 71st minute. His hard low kick from 15 yards went just wide of the near post following a strong run down the right wing. The Hawks kept up the pressure and got two more corner kicks in the next four minutes, but nothing came of it.
 
With their game roster missing some key regulars due to a combination of injuries and accumulated yellow cards, the Highlanders got some ironman performances, as eight starters played the full 110 minutes.
 
"This is the kind of score I expected—2-1, 1-0, or some kind of low-scoring tie," said NJIT coach Didier Orellana. "Of course, we wanted to win. But I thought we played well against a good team and a tie on the road against a team as good as (Saint Joseph's) is not a bad result."
 
Next up for the Highlanders is a return home to host Sacred Heart in a 7 pm game on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
Last season in Fairfield, CT, Sacred Heart dealt NJIT a 2-1 loss in the second game of 2013. In that frustrating defeat, the Highlanders scored first and put nine shots on goal, but saw their 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 deficit in a span of three minutes late in the second half.