FGCU Stays Hot; Tops NJIT Men's Soccer 4-1
UNION, NJ—FGCU senior forward Dylan Sacramento scored twice and tallied an assist as the visiting Eagles won its sixth straight, rolling to a 4-1 victory over NJIT Saturday afternoon in ASUN Conference men’s soccer action at Kean University’s East Campus Facility.
The Eagles, receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll and ranked #3 in the NSCAA Southeast Region Poll, improves to 6-2-1 overall, 1-0-0 in the ASUN. The Highlanders, coming off a 1-0 road victory at Jacksonville, in the programs first-ever conference match, drops to 4-3-2 on the season, 1-1-0 in the ASUN.
FGCU, the nation’s leader in total goals with 25, had three different goal scorers in the win. Sacramento scored twice in the opening half and added an assist on redshirt sophomore Arion Sobers-Assue goal in the 20th minute while junior Robert Ferrer capped the FGCU, scoring in the 70th minute.
NJIT tallied its lone goal of the match in the 77th minute, when freshman Rene White converted his fifth of the year off an assist from freshman Andy Alvarez.
The visiting Eagles started the scoring in the 18th minute, on the third goal of the season by Sacramento. The play started with a shot by Sobers-Assue inside the box, which hit off the right post and Sacramento, standing in front of the net, played the ball to the back of the net with his chest for a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, FGCU’s Ferrer played a ball to the middle of the field to a running, Sacramento. Sacramento sent a pass to Sobers-Assue, who buried a shot to the left of the Highlanders keeper, taking a 2-0 lead. The goal for Sobers-Assue is his sixth of the season.
Just minutes before intermission, FGCU’s Sacramento found the back of the net for his second goal of the match in the 42nd minute, assisted by Miguel Jaime. Sacramento, who collected his fourth goal of the season, received a forward pass from Jaime, settled and fired a shot just inside the far post, giving the Eagles a 3-0 advantage.
At the half, the visiting Eagles held a 6-1 advantage in shots and 4-0 in corner kicks.
To start the second half, the Highlanders had an opportunity to score in the 50th minute on a cross from freshman combo Alvarez to Diogo Ferreira but Ferreira’s shot was blocked by an FGCU defender.
The Highlanders had two chances in a span of five minutes. NJIT’s Rene White’s shot in the 58th minute was on target but a diving save by FGCU goalkeeper Sawyer Jackman, kept the Highlanders off the board. A shot by junior co-captain Mamadou Guirassy, who played for the Guinea's U20 Men's National Team this past summer, sailed high in the 63rd minute..
FGCU scored its fourth and final goal of the match in the 70th minute off a corner kick by Dennis Zapata to Ferrer. Ferrer, who was positioned at the top of the box, split the Highlander defense, tucking away his second goal of the season low and inside the right post.
In the 77th minute, NJIT scored its lone goal of the match on a through ball from Alvarez to the Highlanders leading-scorer White. White, who received the pass from Alvarez, carried the ball down the right side, taking his defender 1-on-1 and scored to the bottom left post. White, the 2015 NorthJersey.com Player of the Year and all-time leading scorer at Hawthorne Christian Academy, has tallied five goals in nine matches, ranking the freshman tied for third on the NJIT Division I list for goals in a season. The record stands at seven, accomplished by Franco Gamero in 2012.
A late chance for NJIT came in the 83rd minute off a direct kick by freshman Andrew Nino. The shot by Nino was saved by FGCU’s Jackman and rebounded by Guirassy, but his shot went wide.
FGCU’s goalkeeper Jackman stopped four Highlander shots while freshman keeper Victor Pujades, the ASUN’s leader in save percentage entering the match, tallied one save.
The Highlanders finished the match with a 17-11 advantage in shots.
NJIT, in a stretch of three consecutive home matches, will host LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday at 4pm on the campus of Kean University’s East Campus Facility. Defending Northeast Conference regular season champion, LIU Brooklyn advanced to the first round of the 2015 NCAA Men's College Cup, falling to Rutgers in penalty kicks.
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