NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT men's soccer team will travel to No. 12 Vermont on Saturday, October 15 for an America East Conference men's soccer matchup.
Game Information
The match will be played at Virtue Field with kickoff slated for 7pm on America East TV. In-game statistics will be available for free on UVMAthletics.com.
Road Warriors
NJIT opened the 2022 season with seven consecutive road matches, the most since the 2017 season when the Highlanders started off the season with a five-match road swing. NJIT played its first home game of the season on September 20 vs. Sacred Heart, shutting out the Pioneers, 2-0.
All-Time Series
NJIT will look for its first all-time win over Vermont. The Catamounts lead the all-time series, 4-0. The last time the two teams met was in the quarterfinals of the America East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. NJIT scored two late goals in a span of 2:20 but couldn't complete the comeback as No. 2 Vermont edged No. 6 NJIT, 3-2.
Last Time Out
The NJIT men's soccer team was defeated for the first time in America East play this season as visiting New Hampshire scored a late goal to break a scoreless tie and held off the Highlanders to preserve the 1-0 win on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
NJIT saw its four-match unbeaten streak come to an end with the loss and the Highlanders are now 3-4-4 in 2022 and 0-1-2 in America East action.
Scouting the Highlanders
NJIT has collected wins against James Madison, La Salle and Sacred Heart while tying Drexel, Rider, UMass Lowell and Binghamton and dropped decisions at Big East foes UConn and Villanova, Iona from the MAAC and three-time defending America East Conference regular season champions New Hampshire.
Prior to the New Hampshire goal in the second half on October 8, NJIT set a new Division I program record scoreless streak with a time of 407:25. NJIT entered the match unbeaten in the last four, registering three ties (Rider, UMass Lowell, Binghamton) and a victory against Sacred Heart).
Goncalo Franco leads the Highlanders attack with three goals followed by Asembo Augo and Jose Del Valle with two goals apiece while freshman Maximus Barboto, who has earned America East Conference Rookie of the Week twice this season thus far, is the son of head coach Fernando Barboto. He ranks fourth in the America East with four assists.
Senior co-captain Samuel Reisgys has played in every match in goal for the Highlanders this season, posting a 1.33 goals-against average and a .731 saves percentage. His 219 career saves tops the record books in the NJIT All-Time Division I era. He ranks second in the America East in shutouts with four.
America East Conference
This will also be NJIT's third season in the America East after the school joined the league in July 2020. However, it will be the Highlanders' first AE campaign after a proper offseason (2020 was played in Spring 2021 due to COVID and 2021 was played the following fall). The Highlanders were selected to finish fifth in the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll.
Scouting Vermont
Vermont, ranked No. 12 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, enters Saturday's match winners of nine straight, 10-1-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the America East. The Catamounts defeated Binghamton, Bryant and UMass Lowell.
The ranking is Vermont's highest ever by the United Soccer Coaches/NSCAA. UVM was also picked as the top team in the Northeast Region.
The Catamounts own the longest active winning streak in the country with nine straight victories. The nine-game winning streak for the first for a Vermont team since its historic 1989 season.
Vermont has recorded a clean sheet in each of its last five games, and hasn't allowed a goal in 530:14 of game play. UVM's goals against average of .545 ranks eighth in the nation. Nate Silveira ranks 7th in the country with a .476 goals against average.
Next Up
NJIT will return back to Newark for a pair of matches, first welcoming non-conference opponent Hartford on October 18 at 7pm.
