HILLSIDE, NJ – NJIT women’s soccer collected their first ASUN Conference win of 2017, a 1-0 victory over Stetson at Kean University’s East Campus on Sunday.
Briana Hackos tallied the game winning goal for the Highlanders (7-7, 1-4 ASUN), off a corner kick in the 86th minute.
The Hatters (7-3-3, 2-1-2 ASUN) were undefeated in the ASUN prior to today’s game with wins over Kennesaw State and USC Upstate and ties with FGCU and Lipscomb.
The shots were close with Stetson posting 16 and the Highlanders 14, with each team notching nine shots on goal.
Both teams broke open the game in the 11th minute, with the Highlanders attacking first with a shot by Nicole Baldassini.
Stetson countered seconds later with a shot by Adrianna Suarez to the upper right corner that NJIT keeper Karen David stopped making a jumping save denying the Hatters a goal.
Stetson added six more shots in the half and the Highlanders added three, with the score tied up at 0 going into halftime.
The Highlanders outshot the Hatters 10-9 in the second half, with their first opportunity coming in the first five minutes.
Neema Liverpool launched a high shot that landed right on top of the net.
Another close NJIT attempt came from Carly Berdan, when she blasted a shot from 25 yards out that Hatter keeper Emily Plotz made a diving save to keep from going in.
Brooke McGee tallied one of her team-high three shots, in the box after a free kick by Emily Heckman. Mcgee’s shot was saved and teammate Berdan tried to score on the rebound but also got denied by Plotz.
With under four minutes remaining Berdan made a run into the box and was taken down earning a penalty kick for the Highlanders. Sophomore Hackos took the kick for NJIT tucking the ball into the left side of the net.
In the final seconds of the game Stetson had one more opportunity to tie the game, off a direct kick. The ball was served into box and bounced around to the Hatters Ellie Hackett who took a point blank shot on David, that David kicked saved away as the time ticked to zero.
David notched nine saves in the Highlanders win, her first shutout of the season, while Plotz made eight saves on the day.
The Highlanders continue ASUN play, traveling to Georgia to take on Kennesaw State on October 14th for a 12pm game.
