Seton Hall
Seton Hall handily defeats NJIT, 4-1
Date: September 25, 2019By: Heaven Hill
After a grueling loss to Providence where they were outplayed from whistle to whistle, the Seton Hall Pirates finally flipped the switch on offense and bludgeoned the NJIT Highlanders 4-1, on the road in Newark, NJ.
The Hall came out of the gates in this one like a team possessed. After allowing an early shot on goal from NJIT forward Gerald Cubero, the Pirates instantly applied pressure on the opposing goalie, with a sense of urgency that was completely absent in their last outing.
In the first 15 minutes, coach Andreas Lindberg’s squad matched their number of shots from all of last game, with five shots from SHU forward Stephen Elias and midfielders Eden O’Leary, and Camil Koreichi, making NJIT goalie Samuel Reisgys work early on. It seemed like it was a matter of time until the Pirates would finally break the scoring drought.
Not too long after this sequence, the Hall finally struck pay dirt with their first goal since September 8, as Koreichi was able to steal back the ball after a failed clear from Reisgys and fired an absolute beauty into the back of the net just before the 21st minute. Lindberg’s unit had removed the monkey from their back what a time to do so, just before conference play.
Seton Hall continued to apply pressure as Koreichi racked up another shot on goal in the 24th minute, but the Highlanders weren’t simply going away easily. It wasn’t long until NJIT knotted the game back up at one, as NJIT forward Alejandro Rabell managed to slip past two SHU defenders and deliver a great cross to redshirt junior Rene White, who then finished the goal on the left side of the net.
The Pirates then subbed in three impact players in CJ Tibbling, Sean MacLeod and JP Marin. A few fouls later and after a brilliant save by Seton Hall’s Andreas Nota, the substitutions became fruitful as MacLeod gave the Hall the lead back with an excellent goal off a curving free kick over a wall of Highlander defenders in the 39th minute.
Just like that, Lindberg’s unit scored more than one goal for the first time since the season opener demolition of Central Connecticut State. The Pirates were back in the driver’s seat just minutes before halftime. After a yellow card was issued to SHU midfielder Torbjorn Alseth, the Pirates entered the locker room with a 2-1 lead and were in complete control.
The early minutes of the second half weren’t too eventful, outside of some exciting saves from Nota, who turned in yet another masterful performance. Midfielders Tibbling and James Boote, along with Andrea Borg, fired shots at Reisgys, continuing to apply pressure. Lindberg substituted Koreichi back into the match after a short rest and Koreichi did not disappoint, as he added another goal in the 71st minute to make the score 3-1, this time off an excellent defensive play and assist from Elias.
The game seemed over at that point, but apparently the Pirates didn’t get a memo to stop scoring as Borg sped past two Highlanders and finished a superb solo run for a goal in the 81st minute, making the final score 4-1. He then immediately followed that with a yellow card, putting a bit of a damper on an outstanding score. Before they knew it, the final whistle had blown and the long losing streak came to an end, as the Pirates now reach 2-4-0 on the season with this much-needed victory.
The Pirates finally return to their old stomping grounds at Owen T. Carroll Field on Saturday evening, as they will play the DePaul Blue Demons in their second game of Big East Conference play this season. That game is slated to kick off at 6 p.m. The Pirates will hope to see if they can keep their winning ways rolling.
Heaven Hill can be reached at heaven.hill@student.shu.edu.
