Friday, September 10
South Orange, N.J.
6:56 PM
Seton Hall University
4
vs
3
NJIT
Cella Powers No. 22 Pirates Past NJIT in OT, 4-3
9/10/2021 11:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
South Orange, N.J. – Mattia Cella (Rapallo, Italy) scored the golden goal for the No.22-ranked Pirates as they defeated NJIT in an overtime thriller, 4-3. Raz Amir (Israel), Mans Saebbo (Gothenburg, Sweden), and Jordan Jowers (Middlesbrough, England) all tallied in the victory while Johannes Pex (Stephansposching, Germany) picked up three assists along the way. The Pirates now move to 3-0-2 on the season and have not lost a match at Owen T. Carroll Field in 674 days.
How it Happened
In the 12th minute, Amir got the scoring started for The Hall, his first of the season. Sprinting down the far sideline, Pex found a streaking Amir who beat the Highlander keeper with a header to the far post to put the Pirates up one early.
A little over halfway through the first period, the Jose Escandon found Regsan Watkins with a through ball into the box. Watkins was able to beat the charging Andreas Nota (Rome, Italy) for the equalizer and send things level at one to the half.
In the 76th minute, with the score still tied, the Pirates found offense again from the foot of Pex. The junior found Saebbo on a cross who proceed to redirect the go-ahead goal to the far post for his second goal in as many games. With the Pirates holding a 2-1 advantage, Nota came up big in net for The Hall with back-to-back diving saves to preserve the lead.
The Pirate lead would not last long as just over a minute later on an NJIT corner kick, Rene White was able to deflect one off a Pirate and into the back of the net to equalize things at two. However, just 16 seconds later, JP Marin (Briarwood, N.Y.) was able to thread the needle on a pass to Jowers who was able to beat the final Highlander defender and keeper for what seemed destine to be the game-winner.
With the Pirates leading 3-2 in the 78th minute, NJIT capped off a wild two minutes of playing with a dramatic goal of their own. For the second time in the match, Watkins was able to find the equalizer for the Highlanders, this time with some help from Justin Aguirre-Rosas. Level at three, the game headed into overtime.
Turning Point
Just five minutes into the first overtime period, the Pirates would find their game-winner. On the far side of the field Jowers laid a ball in for Pex, who, from nearly the same spot as his first assist, found the head of a charging Cella, who floated one into the back of the net. The tally was the first of Cella's career as a Pirate and sealed the deal for The Hall to cap a thrilling, 4-3, overtime victory.
Goals
12' – Amir – from Pex (2)
31' – Watkins (2) – from Escandon (2)
77' – Saebbo (2) – from Pex (3)
78' – White (5)
78' – Jowers – from Marin (3)
80' – Watkins 2-today (3) – from Aguirre-Rosas
95' – Cella – from Pex (4) and Jowers (3)
Inside the Numbers
The Pirates will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to West Point, N.Y. to take on Army. Kickoff for that match is set for 6 p.m.
How it Happened
In the 12th minute, Amir got the scoring started for The Hall, his first of the season. Sprinting down the far sideline, Pex found a streaking Amir who beat the Highlander keeper with a header to the far post to put the Pirates up one early.
Another look at Raz's first tally of the season! ⚽🙌#HALLin 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/rFgyDj0wBR
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) September 10, 2021
A little over halfway through the first period, the Jose Escandon found Regsan Watkins with a through ball into the box. Watkins was able to beat the charging Andreas Nota (Rome, Italy) for the equalizer and send things level at one to the half.
In the 76th minute, with the score still tied, the Pirates found offense again from the foot of Pex. The junior found Saebbo on a cross who proceed to redirect the go-ahead goal to the far post for his second goal in as many games. With the Pirates holding a 2-1 advantage, Nota came up big in net for The Hall with back-to-back diving saves to preserve the lead.
Lost in all the chaos were two TERRIFIC back-to-back saves from our keeper! @NotaAndreas 💪#HALLin 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/iep71BhxQh
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) September 11, 2021
The Pirate lead would not last long as just over a minute later on an NJIT corner kick, Rene White was able to deflect one off a Pirate and into the back of the net to equalize things at two. However, just 16 seconds later, JP Marin (Briarwood, N.Y.) was able to thread the needle on a pass to Jowers who was able to beat the final Highlander defender and keeper for what seemed destine to be the game-winner.
With the Pirates leading 3-2 in the 78th minute, NJIT capped off a wild two minutes of playing with a dramatic goal of their own. For the second time in the match, Watkins was able to find the equalizer for the Highlanders, this time with some help from Justin Aguirre-Rosas. Level at three, the game headed into overtime.
Turning Point
Just five minutes into the first overtime period, the Pirates would find their game-winner. On the far side of the field Jowers laid a ball in for Pex, who, from nearly the same spot as his first assist, found the head of a charging Cella, who floated one into the back of the net. The tally was the first of Cella's career as a Pirate and sealed the deal for The Hall to cap a thrilling, 4-3, overtime victory.
Goals
12' – Amir – from Pex (2)
31' – Watkins (2) – from Escandon (2)
77' – Saebbo (2) – from Pex (3)
78' – White (5)
78' – Jowers – from Marin (3)
80' – Watkins 2-today (3) – from Aguirre-Rosas
95' – Cella – from Pex (4) and Jowers (3)
Inside the Numbers
- The Pirates outshot the Highlanders 18-14 and took 10 corners to NJIT's three.
- Six different Pirates picked up a point in the victory with Pex, Jowers, Amir, Saebbo and Cella picking up multi-point efforts.
- The Pirates converted four of their five shots on net.
- Nota made five saves enroute to the win.
- The 14 goals in a four-game span are the most for the Pirates since they scored 15 in four games during the 2007 season from Sept. 30 to Oct. 17.
- 11 different Pirates have now found the back of the net in five games this season.
- With three assists tonight, Johannes Pex has a team leading eight points through five games.
- The goals for Mattia Cella and Jordan Jowers were their respective firsts as Pirates.
- This was the Pirates first overtime victory since they defeated St. John's 3-2 in OT on March 17th, 2021.
- With the win tonight, Andreas Nota moves into a tie for fourth place in program history with 24 wins in net.
The Pirates will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to West Point, N.Y. to take on Army. Kickoff for that match is set for 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
F
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