NJIT Clinches ASUN Conference Regular Season Title in Historic Night

Published: Saturday, November 2, 2019
NJIT men’s soccer captures its first-ever ASUN Conference regular season title. Rene White scores second career hat trick, raises season goal total to 16, ranking second in the nation.

A historic night in the making, the NJIT men's soccer team clinched the programs first-ever ASUN Conference regular season title behind a hat trick by redshirt junior Rene White in the Highlanders 5-0 shutout over Jacksonville in the final regular season match for both teams at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
NJIT men's soccer captures its first-ever ASUN Conference regular season title and first title at the Division I level (first season 2004).  
 
NJIT (8-4-4, 5-1-0 ASUN) will be the No. 1 seed in the 2019 ASUN Men's Soccer Postseason Tournament and host the first and semifinal matches.  The quarterfinals will feature No. 4 Stetson and No. 5 Lipscomb Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.  NJIT will play the winner Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m.
 
Redshirt junior Rene White scored his second career hat-trick, raising his season-goal total to 16, which ties the NJIT single season record with Mamadou Guirassy (2017) and sits in second in the nation behind the leader - UCLA's Milan Iloski.  White scored the first-ever hat trick in the Division I era for the men's soccer program against Saint Francis U Sept. 5, 2018.  For his career, White, the NJIT career goal and points leader in the Division I era, sits with 33 goals and 70 points.
 
Junior transfer Regsan Watkins added to the scoring tally late in the match, notching a pair of goals in a span of two minutes, raising his season-mark to four goals.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Samuel Reisgys and senior Victor Pujades combined for the shutout.  Reisgys made two saves while Pujades stopped one Dolphin shot.
 
White scored the first goal of the match in the 13th minute on a penalty kick after being taken down inside the box.
 
The 6-foot forward increased the Highlander lead to 2-0 in the 23rd minute assisted by Jose Adames.  Adames crossed a pass into the box to White, who blasted a shot into the lower right corner.
 
White completed the hat trick in the 47th minute on a long pass from the back, as the forward collected the ball around midfield, dribbling 10 yards, catching the goalkeeper out of goal and floating over the keepers head.
 
Watkins scored a pair of goals for the Highlanders in the 82nd and 84th minute, increasing the NJIT lead to 5-0.  Watkins dribbled through the defense and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one and scored a minute later carrying the ball down the right side into box, dribbling by the goalkeeper, then beating a Dolphin defender.
 
NJIT honored its nine graduating seniors -- Rene White, Andy Alvarez, Javier Anton, Victor Pujades, Zach Halma, Juan Zapata, Andrew Nino, Diogo Ferreira and Ryan Melink in pregame ceremonies.