News Release

NJCU'S JENNIFER ALBUJA REGAINS DIVISION III NATIONAL LEAD IN GOALS PER GAME; ON THE VERGE OF A NATIONAL STATISTICAL TITLE

NJCU'S JENNIFER ALBUJA REGAINS DIVISION III NATIONAL LEAD IN GOALS PER GAME; ON THE VERGE OF A NATIONAL STATISTICAL TITLE

INDIANAPOLIS, IN�New Jersey City University sophomore striker JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) is on the verge of winning the NCAA Division III national statistical championship in goals per game and with a little help from other teams involved in the NCAA Tournament, could perhaps win the points per game crown as well. NJCU has never had an individual win an offensive national statistical title.

In the 10th weekly Division III women�s soccer national statistical report for the 2008 season released by the NCAA for games played through November 9, Albuja has regained the national lead in goals per game for the first time since September 21 with 1.684 per contest.

Albuja chalked up her second six-goal game of the season on October 30 as NJCU (9-10) defeated Penn State-Berks, 7-1, and broke the New Jersey Athletic Conference single-season scoring record with 32 goals in only 19 games.

Edgewood College freshman Elaine Gerry, who had held the national lead since eclipsing Albuja in late September, is now second at 1.667 goals per game with 35 in 21 contests. Edgewood (16-3-2) plays University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (17-3-0) in the NCAA Tournament First Round on November 15 and if Gerry does not score twice and/or is eliminated, Albuja likely will be the 2008 national statistical champion.

Maryville University (TN) sophomore Jessica Petersen has 34 goals in 21 games for a 1.619 per game average. Her team (17-3-1) meets Lynchburg College (19-0-3) in another NCAA First Round match and Petersen would need four goals in that game to pass Albuja.

Albuja�s 32 goals are third most in the nation this year, behind Gerry (35) and Petersen (34) but in fewer games.
Albuja also has a shot at the points per game title. She currently has 69 points in 19 games for a 3.63 per game average (32 goals, five assists) to rank No. 2 in Division III, trailing only Petersen in the category (3.76).

If Petersen does not collect one point against Lynchburg, Albuja would pass her for the national lead. Gerry is third with 3.57 points per game.

In total points, Albuja ranks tied for third nationally with Kaylee Weise of Stevens Point with 69 each. Petersen had 79 and Gerry has tallied 75.

In all, Albuja was the national leader in points per game three weeks this season, last owning first place on September 28, and was first in goals per game in two weeks. She dropped to sixth on October 19 after being held scoreless in three games in late September and limited to four goals over a nine-game stretch. But a three-goal game against College of St. Elizabeth on October 21, combined with her seventh hat-trick of the year against PSU-Berks allowed Albuja to move into third place in goals per game on October 26 and into second place in the November 2 report.

She also had fallen to a tie for 10th in points per game on October 19, before climbing to seventh on October 26 and a tie for second on November 2.

Albuja also is tied for first nationally for the most points in a game. Her 14 points (6 goals; 2 assists) against Medgar Evers College on September 6 is tied with Sarah Strobino of Northland College, who had 14 in a game on September 1, for the single-game season lead. Albuja also had 13 points in the PSU-Berks game, making her the only play in the country with 13 or more points in two games. Albuja�s two six-goal games tie for the second most goals scored in a contest in 2008.

Meanwhile, freshman forward NICOLE SARICA (Linden, NJ/Linden), who provided two assists in the win over PSU-Berks to finish with 10 in 19 games, rejoined the Top 50 nationally in assists per game for the first time since September 21. Sarica is now tied for 42nd place overall with 0.53 per game.

As a team, NJCU continues to rank among the Top 25 in scoring offense with a single-season record 66 goals�21 more than the previous standard of 45�for a 3.47 per game average. That is tied for 21st nationally. The Gothic Knights were fourth nationally on September 21 but fell to 34th on October 19, before the late-season rally.
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Submitted 2008-11-14 15:37:35 by New Jersey City University Sports Information Department

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