NEWARK, NJ--The NJIT men's soccer team will return home for a pair of matches this weekend, first welcoming America East opponent Binghamton on Tuesday at 3:30pm on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.

No Spectators at NJIT Athletic Contests
Due to COVID protocol policy, NJIT Department of Athletics is Prohibiting Spectators at our Indoor & Outdoor Athletic Events.

Game Information
Game time is slated for 3:30pm on Tuesday, March 23.  The match will be streamed live on America East TV with in-game statistics available on www.NJITHighlanders.com. 

New Home for the Highlanders
NJIT, which officially joined the league on July 1, 2020, as the 10th full member institution, will begin its inaugural season in the America East on February 26 when the Highlanders visit UMBC.

The Highlanders were picked to finish fourth according to a vote of the league's coaches.

The America East has divided its nine teams into three pods for this season. 

Binghamton is currently 2-1-0 in its pod- which also includes Albany and Hartford. NJIT is 1-2-0 and is in pod C with UMBC is 1-2-1 which also features Stony Brook and NJIT. The final pod includes New Hampshire, UMass Lowell and Vermont.

All-Time Series
Binghamton leads the all-time series, 3-0, against NJIT.  

NJIT Outlook
The Highlanders will be returning to competition off the programs first-ever ASUN Conference Regular Season and Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. 

NJIT, which finished with a Division I school-record ten wins last season, ranked in the Top 10 of the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region poll all season, with its highest ranking coming during the second week of the season (No. 2). NJIT closed the season ranked fifth out of 10 teams.

The Highlanders finished last season 10-5-4 overall, 5-1-0 in the ASUN.

NJIT return seven players who earned All-ASUN honors including, Coach of the Year (Fernando Barboto), Player of the Year (Rene White), Goalkeeper of the Year (Samuel Reisgys) and Rookie of the Year (Alejandro Rabell).

Last Time Out
Vermont sophomore Noah Egan scored the game-winning goal in the final minute to give Vermont a 2-1 America East Conference win over visiting NJIT.

The Highlanders knotted the game in the 65th minute with a goal from Jose Adames from 25 yards out.  Graduate student Tomas Jorge chipped a feed to the left side and Adames worked his way through a defender and scored the equalizer into the top right corner of the net.  The goal for Adames was his first of the season.

NJIT came close to taking the lead in the 72nd minute as Luc Smith found Sergio Pita sprinting up the seam who blasted a line drive at Catamount keeper Nate Silveira from close range but Silveira made a diving save to keep the 1-1 tie.

Scouting the Highlanders
Watkins leads NJIT in scoring with a pair of goals and one assist.  Rene White, Zach Halma, Sergio Pita, and Tomas Jorge each have one goal for the Highlanders. 

Jose Escandon paces NJIT with two assists. 

Reisgys has a 1.91 goals against average and 25 saves in goal.  His 5.00 saves per game ranks first in the America East.

Scouting the Bearcats
Binghamton enters Tuesday's match with a 2-1 record, most recently defeating UMBC, 2-0, on March 19.

Michael Luescher continues to lead the America East in goals per game (1.33) and points per game (1.67).

Next Up
NJIT will return to non-conference action on Saturday, March 27 when the Highlanders host Drexel.  Kickoff is slated for 2pm.  

Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2021 NJIT men's soccer season by following @NJITSoccer on Twitter and Instagram and liking the NJIT Men's Soccer page on Facebook.