Box score
FARMVILLE, VA—Freshman Franco Gamero came off the bench to notch a goal and an assist for NJIT, as the Highlanders scored three times in the last 26 minutes for a 3-0 win over Howard in the opening round of the men's Atlantic Soccer Conference championship tournament hosted by Longwood Thursday afternoon.
Gamero assisted on NJIT's first goal, which was scored by sophomore Chico Lugo in the 65th minute and then Gamero picked up an insurance goal for the Highlanders 10 minutes later on a shot from 45 yards out. Senior Osvaldo Perez converted an assist from freshman Pete Walker to close out the scoring in the final minute.
The win was noteworthy on several fronts, foremost among them the fact that NJIT advances to play another day in 2009. The Highlanders will take on regular season ASC champion Adelphi on Friday at 3 pm, also at Longwood.
The second-seeded host Lancers, the defending champs, will meet #3 seed Houston Baptist at 6 pm Friday in the other semifinal. The championship game will be played at noon on Sunday.
Thursday's ASC tournament victory marked the second year in a row in which NJIT defeated Howard to open the conference tournament. Last year the Highlanders topped Howard, 3-1, and moved on to the semis, where they fell to Adelphi, 3-0.
Thursday's win was the fifth of 2009 for NJIT, generating the highest season wins total for the Highlanders since they began playing a Division I schedule in 2004. The previous Division I high was four victories, which came in 2008.
There were some noteworthy firsts in the win against Howard, as well. The defeat of Howard was the first this season away from home for the Highlanders, who were 4-5 on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium, but 0-8-1 away from home (the one tie had been at Howard, 1-1, in two overtimes on November 1 in Washington, DC, in the regular season finale).
The three goals against the Howard Bison were also NJIT's highest output in nearly two months, matching a total last produced in a 3-2 double overtime win over VMI on September 20. And the shutout victory was the first for the Highlanders since they posted back-to-back 1-0 wins against LIU and Longwood on October 4 and October 10, respectively.
NJIT had a decided advantage in shots and shots on goal throughout the match, which was played in heavy rain that included downpours and winds topping 20 miles per hour, plus temperatures around 45 degrees.
But the Highlanders could not break through until 64:42, when Gamero, who had come on as a sub in the 58th minute, crossed to Lugo, who headed the ball into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Gamero's assist was his first.
The freshman later gave his team some breathing room, shooting the ball over the head of Howard goalkeeper Victor Thomas and into the net from near midfield, putting NJIT on top by two goals at the 74:25 mark. The long-range marker was Gamero's third goal of the season.
Walker, the freshman, and Perez, the senior, closed the scoring just 36 seconds from the final whistle, as Walker registered his second assist and Perez netted his second goal of 2009 on a shot from the top of the box.
NJIT senior goalkeeper Ryan Sutherland made three saves in posting his third shutout of the season. For Howard, Thomas, who was lifted shortly after yielding the long-range goal to Gamero, made three saves in 76 minutes plus and Larry Turner, who allowed the third goal, picked up one save in 13:49 between the posts.
NJIT outshot the Bison, 18-6, and 7-3 in shots on goal. The Highlanders also had seven corner kicks to four for Howard.
