Box Score NEWARK, NJ—NJIT scored three times in the opening half and then, playing the entire second half down a man, held on for a 3-2 win over previously unbeaten #22 St. Francis Brooklyn in non-conference men's soccer Saturday evening on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
The visiting Terriers came in not only unbeaten, but they had allowed just a single goal in forging a 7-0-2 record through nine games. Indeed, St. Francis had posted four consecutive shutout wins since allowing their only goal in a 1-1 tie at Saint Peter's on September 12.
For its part, NJIT had struggled to score recently, staying off the board in three straight road games since tying Manhattan at home, 2-2, on September 20. Saturday's win lifted the Highlanders to 3-5-2 for the season.
The previous statistics all started to fly out the window when
Tommy Osipitan, a senior forward for the Highlanders scored exactly 17 minutes into the contest, putting his team up 1-0. It was the first goal of the season for the senior.
Rickardo Oldham, who triggered the play with a free kick from outside the box, picked up his team-leading third assist when Osipitan headed the ball into the net.
Junior defender
Ansel Ueshiro, in his first start, made it 2-0, NJIT, when he scored his first college goal, knocking in a rebound from the door step in the 28th minute. Freshman
Narayan Taterway got the assist on his hard shot from the top of the box that St. Francis keeper Jack Binks deflected out to Ueshiro.
Binks, who came in leading the nation in goals against average (0.104), save percentage (.964), shutout percentage (.889), and shutouts (8), would finish Saturday's game with two saves.
The Highlanders completed their stunning first half with an unassisted goal by senior
Joshua Mercer, who controlled a bouncing ball and fired back into the net from 20 yards out at 40:18. The goal was the team-best fourth of the season for Mercer, who has 14 in his career, tying him atop NJIT's career Division I list with
Franco Gamero (Class of 2014).
One final first-half play shaped the second half, as NJIT's
Victor Kausch was ejected after a hard foul in the 44th minute, meaning the Highlanders would play with 10 men the rest of the way.
Down a man and playing with a 3-0 halftime lead, NJIT packed its defense against the talented Terriers, who outshot the home team in the second half, 12-0 (20-5 overall).
Despite NJIT's defensive posture and some excellent goalkeeping from junior
Marco Luna, who made seven saves, St. Francis scored twice in just over four minutes near the middle of the second half.
Federico Curbello's second goal of the season, assisted by Yussuf Olajide got the Terriers on the board in the 63rd minute and John Makaya trimmed the deficit to one on a goal at 67:07, with Olajide and Curbelo getting assists.
Between the first and second St. Francis goals, NJIT's senior captain
Jimmy Myers made a saving play to prevent another likely Terrier goal.
Curbelo had worked free with the ball at the top of the box and was running forward in the 64th minute. Luna came off his line in an attempt to disrupt the play, but Curbelo, still on the move, kept moving forward. Myers, trailing the play by a step when Luna dove at Curbelo's feet, caught up and made a sliding clearance of Curbelo's shot toward the open net.
Still down a goal and with nearly 23 minutes left, St. Francis was unable to get the equalizer, as Luna made three difficult saves to preserve the victory.
Saturday's win over #22 St. Francis marks the second consecutive season in which NJIT has scored an upset win over a nationally-ranked side. On September 20, 2014, the Highlanders upset Navy, also ranked 22nd in the nation at the time, 1-0.
The upset of Navy came at home, as well. The Highlanders are 2-1-1 at home this year after going 6-0-3 in Newark last year. They are 10-1-4 in their last 15 home games dating back to the 2013 season.
NJIT will go on the road for its next two games, starting with another non-conference tilt at Central Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 pm.
St. Francis will play the rest of its games in the Northeast Conference, where the Terriers are two-time defending conference champions.
