@ColeTrain4EVER[/author_info] [/author]
EWING – This late in the season, every game matters.
With just over a handful of games left, focus is required on the pursuit of a playoff push. The College of New Jersey’s women’s soccer team may be at the top of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) standings, but letting up now isn’t in its playbook.
The Lions have a slight lead in the standings over Rowan University in the conference, meaning their next game against New Jersey City University on Saturday, at 1 p.m. at the TCNJ Soccer Complex has that much more importance.
Sophomore midfielder Jessica Goldman believes these types of games are the most important.
“Obviously, it’s our conference, these count for the NJAC,” Goldman said. “We know these teams, we play them every year.”
The team is still undefeated this season – 3-0-1 in conference play and 8-0-3 overall – hoping to expand a two game winning streak into this stretch of crucial games.
New Jersey City University hasn’t had much luck in this season in the NJAC, going 0-3 against conference teams and 4-6-1 overall. The team’s last game against John Jay College resulted in a 4-1 victory, and a win here would help push the team out of the NJACs basement.
The Lions’ last game against the Gothic Knights was a 6-0 win for the college last year, actually one year ago exactly minus one day, and again the team is heavily favored in the match up.
Goldman knows the Lions can’t be careless however, since anything can happen.
“We just have to show we aren’t taking any team for granted,” said Goldman. “That’s how underdogs win the big games.”
The top two teams in the NJAC have 10 points, and the next two – Montclair State University and Kean University, are one win away from tying with 7 points. With this sort of gap, just one win by any of these teams could vault them over the Lions.
Head coach Joe Russo says the team can’t worry NJAC standings alone, just the game in front of them.
“We’re more concerned with playing well and getting more points in the standings,” he said. “We’re concerned with what we can control ourselves in this game.”
The team can control its own destiny, as long as the wins keep coming. The record they have is the only tiebreaker the team has, and dropping games now would risk losing the top spot right before the playoffs.
The players, however, only care about the next game.
NJCU may be an underdog, but the team is preparing for the Gothic Knights as if it were a final, and are ready for any challenge they bring.