NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT men's soccer team will host first-place UMBC on Senior Night, Friday, October 27.

Senior Night 
Senior Night ceremony will begin at 6:45pm where the NJIT men's soccer coaching staff will recognize its graduating seniors – Samuel Reisgys, Jordi Navio Sanchez, Kendell Thomas, Matthew Heffernan, Caden Pellito, Furkan Yildirim and David Santiago.

America East Conference & Standings (10/24/23)
The Highlanders sit in fifth place with two league matches remaining (vs. UMBC; 1st place, 10pts) and (at UAlbany; 7th place, 4pts).

Vermont and New Hampshire are tied for second (9pts), Bryant and Binghamton are tied for third (8pts) followed by NJIT (7pts) and UAlbany (4pts).

The America East is ranked #5 as a conference behind the Pac-12, ACC, Sun Belt and Big East. The America East currently has five teams in the top-65 of RPI. New Hampshire ranks sixth, Vermont (13th), Bryant (18th), UMBC (29th) and NJIT (65).

Conference Tiebreaker Scenarios Heading into Friday's Matches
NJIT earns a tournament berth with a win or a NJIT tie combined with a loss by UAlbany.

Last Time Out
New Hampshire, ranked No. 19 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, topped visiting NJIT, 2-1, Saturday evening in America East Conference men's soccer action at Wildcat Stadium.

The Wildcats broke the scoreless match in the 58th minute on a goal scored by Atila Ashrafi into the upper left corner to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats went ahead 2-0 in the 66th minute on a goal by Eli Goldman.  Goldman's first shot was saved by NJIT's Samuel Reisgys but Goldman followed up on his own shot to increase the Wildcat lead.

Enrique Mutsoli scored his second goal of the season from distance sailing over the Wildcat goalkeeper in the 85th minute, cutting the Wildcat lead to within one, 2-1, with just over four minutes left in the match.

Tied for 11th in the Nation in Assists
Sophomore Maximus Barboto, the 2022 America East Conference Rookie of the Year, sits tied for 11th in the nation in assists with 8. 

The eight assists in a single season ties the NJIT Division I record and his 12 career assists ranks fifth all-time in the NJIT Division I era.

Goalkeeper Samuel Reisgys
NJIT goalkeeper Samuel Reisgys played all 90 minutes at No 19 New Hampshire, registering six saves, pushing his NJIT all-time record mark to 284 saves.  The match marked Reisgys 74th career match played, moving the graduate student into second in the record books. Reisgys sit two matches shy of the NJIT Division I record held by alum Rene White (76).  

Win Over Top 15 Team
NJIT upset then-ranked No. 15 Vermont on October 7, 1-0, for the program's first win over a United Soccer Coaches top-25 team since 2015.

Scouting the Retrievers from UMBC
–UMBC knocked off their second Top 20 opponent of the season as they stunned #16 ranked Vermont, 2-1, on Saturday. The Retrievers, who won for the second straight season against the Catamounts, moved into first place in the America East standings with two games remaining in the regular season.
–UMBC sophomore defender Lasse Kelp earned a pair of honors after producing the game-winning goal against No. 16 ranked Vermont over the weekend.  The Bonn, Germany native picked up his first America East Defensive Player of the Year accolade and was also named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week.
–Taylor Calheira ranks tied for 12th in the nation with 10 goals (as of 10/22/23).  Calheira has also combined for three assists and 23 points.
–Alex Wroblewski tallied six goals, two assists and 14 points.
 

Next Up
NJIT will conclude the season on the road at UAlbany on Halloween, October 31.  Kickoff is slated for 7pm.

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