Women's Soccer vs Stony Brook - September 30, 2021

Stony Brook SBU (5-5-1, 2-1-0)

NJIT NJIT (4-8-0, 2-1-0)

Stony Brook SBU

(5-5-1, 2-1-0)

Final

Sep. 30, 2021

NJIT NJIT

(4-8-0, 2-1-0)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Stony Brook SBU	0	0	0
NJIT NJIT	0	1	1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | 9/30/2021 11:40:00 PM

Women's Soccer Defeats Defending America East Champion Stony Brook

NEWARK, N.J. --- "We need to have a lot of heart this season in order to beat these really talented opponents that we know are very hard to face from last season."

Those were fifth year Yasmeen Malik's words back in late August as the NJIT women's soccer team was in the midst of a trying four-game season-opening schedule.

On Thursday night, Malik, redshirt junior Molly Saylor and the Highlanders played with tremendous heart and were rewarded with a signature victory as NJIT knocked off the two-time defending America East champion Stony Brook Seawolves, 1-0, at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.

NJIT (4-8, 2-1 AE), who was picked to finish near the bottom of the America East in 2021 and lost 5-0 to Stony Brook (5-5-1, 2-1 AE) last season, could have easily allowed doubt to dictate their effort and played not to lose rather than to win.

Instead, the Highlanders played with heart.

NJIT played Stony Brook to a scoreless tie after 45 minutes with one of its strongest defensive performances to date. The Highlanders contained the Seawolves all over the field and used consistent work rate to keep Stony Brook in front of them. While the Seawolves outshot the Highlanders 4-1 in the first half, none of Stony Brook's chances came without a strong challenge. Of its four shots, two were easily saved by Saylor and the other two sailed out wide.

By contrast, NJIT was able to force a pair of corners while blanking Stony Brook in that category. Sophomore Sydney Watson produced NJIT's lone shot (37') out of those back-to-back corners.

The Highlanders came out in the second half and continued their inspired play. Junior Lauren Chamberlain forced Stony Brook to make a save less than ten seconds into the half and got loose for another shot just over three minutes later.

Six minutes after that, Malik converted on the shot that would matter the most.

After beating a Stony Brook defender to a goal kick and drawing a foul, senior Angela Harris took a free kick from near the left corner flag and placed it perfectly to Malik. The Langhorne, Penn. native - who played in 62 career games in between goals - jumped higher than anyone else in the goalie box and headed the ball just outside the outstretched arms of Seawolves keeper Emerson Richmond Burke.

The Seawolves showed their championship mettle after NJIT's score, logging nine of its ten second half shots after falling behind. Stony Brook's closest chance of tying the game came in the 79th minute. Seawolves leading scorer Alyssa Francese - who scored four goals in her last four games and three in her last outing - took a left-footed shot from 20 yards out that would have went in upper left if not for a diving, left-handed punch save from Saylor.

Saylor added the last of her six saves about 30 seconds later (80') and the NJIT defense held off Stony Brook's final efforts to seal the victory.

OTHER NOTES

NJIT's win snapped Stony Brook's four-game winning streak.
After failing to register an America East conference win in its first season in the league (2020; played Spring 2021), NJIT has won back-to-back conference games for the first time since opening 2019 ASUN play with a 2-0 shutout against Stetson (Sept. 26) and a 2-1 victory at North Alabama (Sept. 29).
Thursday's win gives NJIT its first back-to-back conference home shutouts in the Division I era (since 2006).
The last time NJIT shut out at least two straight conference foes was in 2018 when the Highlanders blanked three straight ASUN opponents:
- At North Florida (Sept. 28, 1-0)
- at Jacksonville (Sept. 30, 4-0)
- FGCU (Oct. 4, 1-0)
Malik's goal was the second of her career and first since the second match of her freshman year at Lafayette on August 23, 2017.
Harris' assist was the third of her career and first since September 8, 2019 in a 4-1 win at Iona.
Malik is the eighth different Highlander to score a goal this season, the most since 2019 (11 different goal scorers).
Thursday's match continued the dominant trend of the 2021 season - shutouts. Ten of NJIT's 12 contests have been clean sheets - all four wins and six of eight losses.
Thursday was also the fourth match that NJIT scored directly off a free kick or corner kick, with the Highlanders posting a 3-1 record in those games.
- Saint Peter's (Aug. 26, W): Briana Ramirez Olimpico (goal from corner)
- Wagner (Sept. 2, W): Bailey Chant corner to Taylor Pape header
- At Rider (Sept. 8, L): Caroline Caputo corner to Ciara Adams header
- Stony Brook (Sept. 30, W): Angela Harris free kick to Yasmeen Malik header.
Molly Saylor recorded her ninth career shutout against Stony Brook. She has four on the season, posted four in 2019, and logged one in 2020.