NEWARK, NJ--The NJIT men's soccer team begins the second half of the America East Conference schedule this week, traveling to Stony Brook on Friday, April 1.

Game Information
Game time is slated for 1pm on Friday, April 1.  The match will be streamed live on America East TV with in-game statistics available on www.StonyBrookAthletics.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.

Around the League
UNH, which moved up two spots to #12 in this week's United Soccer Coaches' Top 25, and Vermont sit tied atop Pod A at 3-0-1 (.833 points percentage). Both teams would earn spots in the tournament with a win this weekend. 

Hartford (2-1-0, .667) can clinch Pod B and a championship berth with a win over Binghamton Saturday and an UAlbany loss or tie. 

Pod C is the most tightly contested with all three teams (NJIT (2-4-1, 2-2-0 AE), UMBC (3-2-1, 2-2-1), Stony Brook (1-4-1, 1-2-1 AE) still in contention.

Each pod winner and one wild card selection will qualify for the spring 2021 America East Men's Soccer Championship, to be played April 15 and 17 at the top seed.

All-Time Series
Stony Brook leads the all-time series 3-0-2.  In the first meeting in Newark on March 12, Stony Brook scored two goals in the first 10 minutes and held on for the 2-0 road victory at NJIT.

Last Time Out
Visiting Drexel scored a pair of goals in each half, edging NJIT, 4-3, in non-conference men's soccer action at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium. 

The NJIT offense outshot Drexel, 18-10 (10-5) on shots on goal.  Senior Regsan Watkins and sophomore Alejandro Rabell each recorded a goal and an assist for the Highlanders.  

Senior Rene White, the active NCAA Division I men's soccer goals and points leader, was the third goal scorer for the Highlanders.  White stands with 38 career goals and 82 career points.

Senior CLASS Award Candidate
White joins a list of 60 NCAA men's and women's student-athletes selected as 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award candidates.

The 6-foot forward was selected in the third round of the 2021 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake.  He becomes the second Highlander to be drafted to the MLS in the last four years -- Mamadou Guirassy (Portland Timbers; fourth round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft).

Guirassy was selected one of 10 Senior CLASS Award finalists in 2017.  That year, Guirassy led the nation in goals with (16).

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition. 

Scouting the Highlanders
Led by the senior tandem of Rene White and Regsan Watkins, the pair leads NJIT with four goals followed by graduate student Tomas Jorge with two. 

Watkins paces NJIT with three assists, which also tops the America East.

2019 Year in Review
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).

Scouting the Seawolves
Stony Brook enters Friday's match with a 1-4-1 overall record, 1-2-1 in the America East with its lone league win over NJIT.

The Seawolves are coming off a 2-1 loss at UMBC on April 2. 

Aki Solvason ranks fifth in the America East with three goals.

Next Up
NJIT will return home for a pair of matches on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium to close out the regular season.  NJIT will conclude the non-conference slate on Tuesday, April 6 vs. Fordham.  Kickoff is slated for 5pm.

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.