Seton Hall University
NJIT
Pirates Fall at NJIT, 1-0
10/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The match was the final non-conference affair of the year for the Pirates, who were coming off a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night. It was the first time that Seton Hall had faced NJIT since 1983, and it was the first meeting between the programs since NJIT transitioned to Division I in 2005.
NJIT controlled the pace of play in the first half, surviving a strong start by the Seton Hall offense to take a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute.
Junior John Gurel (Istanbul, Turkey) had the first shot on net for Seton Hall just 3:50 into the action, settling a pass at the top of the goal box and sending a line drive toward the far post but Lars Maalen-Johanse was there with a diving stop.
Neither team generated many strong chances over the ensuing 25 minutes of action until Christian Galindo recorded the first shot on goal for NJIT in the 29th minute. He lifted a shot from nearly 30-yards out but redshirt senior Michael Kuzan (Union, N.J.) made the easy save.
Seton Hall leading scorer Max Garcia (Jersey City, N.J.) subbed into the game with a little under 13 minutes remaining in the opening half and helped generate the Pirates' best offensive chance of the game just a few moments later.
Junior forward George Velasquez (Union City, N.J.) had a shot blocked near the top of the area, and the rebound bounced up in the air and out to Garcia 20-yards away from the net. Garcia settled quickly then took a swiping shot but he missed high to the right.
Four minutes after Garcia's near miss the Highlanders broke through for the only goal of the game. The score came following a series of three-straight corner kicks for NJIT. Seton Hall was there to easily defend the first two corners, but was unable to clear the zone on either occasion. Finally on the third chance the Highlanders took advantage.
Marko Drljic, who took all three corners for NJIT, made a pass into the middle of the area that found Jason Chippy. Chippy settled the ball, turned and fired a lost shot through the defense and past a sprawling Kuzan to put NJIT ahead, 1-0.
Kuzan made a pair of saves over the first 10 minutes of the second half to keep the Pirates within striking distance and Seton Hall nearly found the equalizing score thanks to shots from sophomore Bolu Akinyode (Lagos, Nigeria) and Garcia.
Akinyode sent a shot on net from 35-yards out toward the far post, but Maalen-Johanse dove to his right to make a save. The Pirates did not capitalizing on the ensuing corner kick chance but did nearly score when Garcia was fouled on the right corner of the goal box.
Sophomore Andrew LoManto (Massapequa, N.Y.) took the free kick for Seton Hall, but instead of sending a shot on net, he made a quick pass to Garcia at the top of the area. Garcia made a beautiful strike that curved toward the top left corner, but his shot drifted just too far and past the goal.
Akinyode again came close to tying the game with a low shot from 20-yards out with just under 15 minutes remaining. Velasquez controlled the ball on the left side of the area and got it out to sophomore Konrad Plewa (Maniowy, Poland) near the top of the box, who passed the ball out to Akinyode. He settled and sent a low shot toward the far post, but Maalen-Johanse was there to make his third save of the game.
Freshman Eric Lagg (Lafayette, N.J.) made a couple of on target crosses late in the second half, but the Pirates were unable to capitalize on either chance. From the left side, Lagg found Plewa in the middle of the area in the 79th minute, but Maalen-Johanse was right there to make the stop. Two minutes later on a set piece Lagg delivered a pass in to freshman defender Julian Kennedy (Nindorf, Germany), but his header sailed over the crossbar.
The Pirates frantically tried to tie the game over the final five minutes of action but were never able to create quality chances of the same caliber from earlier in the period.
NJIT finished the game with a 7-6 edge in shots and 5-4 advantage in shots on net. The Highlanders had eight corner kick chances compared to just three for the Pirates, and it was the series of three-straight corners in the first half that led to the only goal of the game.
Seton Hall (6-6) returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 13, when it hosts No. 7 Notre Dame at Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange, N.J., at 7 p.m.
