TEANECK, NJ – NJIT junior
Mamadou Guirassy scored his first goal of the season in the 74
th minute at Fairleigh Dickinson and the score held for the remainder of the way, as the visiting Highlanders notched a 1-0 victory Friday night in the 2016 season opener for both teams.
Entering his first season at the helm of the Highlanders,
Fernando Barboto, who came to NJIT after a successful 13-year run as head coach at Iona in New Rochelle, where he won 116 games, picked up his first win at NJIT.
Guirassy, recently named to the 2016 Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason all-Conference team, put the visitors on the board in the 74
th minute, taking a long pass from freshman
Andrew Nino and chipped the ball over FDU goalkeeper Julian Toro, who had come out of the goal in an attempt to make a play.
The Knights best chance came in the 84th minute after a foul gave FDU a free kick from 20 yards out. Senior Enver Caymaz took the kick, which was spotted near the center of the field and delivered a strike toward the right side, but the shot hit the post and ricocheted to the sideline.
NJIT freshman goalkeeper
Victor Pujades, a sophomore from Santander, Spain, stopped six of the Knights 11 shots in the shutout. FDU's Toro made two saves in the loss.
The Knights outshot NJIT 11-9, including 6-3 shots on goal.
In addition to Guirassy's team-high four shots, freshmen
Rene White, Hawthorne Christian Academy's all-time leading scorer and
Andrew Nino contributed two shots a piece for NJIT.
NJIT will return to action on August 31 when the Highlanders visit Manhattan at 7pm.
