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DIVISION I ERA AT NJIT BEGINS WEDNESDAY Men’s Soccer Team Hosts Monmouth NEWARK, N.J. – On the eve of making school history, the New Jersey Institute of Technology soccer team is excited, but antsy. The program plays its first match as a member of Division I on Wednesday when it hosts Monmouth University at 6:30 p.m. The game is another milestone in a reclassification process that began more than a year ago when the university first declared its intention to upgrade the men’s soccer team to D-I. In July, the NCAA accepted NJIT to year two of the provisional period for reclassification, which includes playing a full Division I schedule. “The opportunity to play at the Division-I level means testing yourself against the best of all levels of college soccer, and that’s very exciting,” said second-year head coach Pedro Lopes. “At our last few training sessions, I could definitely tell our guys are tired of going after each other and anxious for some outside competition. They are looking forward to playing Monmouth and getting their Division I careers underway.” The Highlanders return five starters from their final Division II squad. They include three-quarters of the defense in seniors Mario Douglas (Gasparillo, Trinidad), Adam Gross (Newton, NJ/Kittatinny Regional) and Andrew Ma (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick). Also back are senior midfielder Rafiqul Chowdhury (Paterson, NJ/JFK-Paterson) and sophomore midfielder Abhishek Mathur (Metuchen, NJ/JFK-Iselin). Monmouth finished with a 4-11-1 won-lost record in 2003 and tied for seventh place in the Northeast Conference. The Hawks return nine starters from that squad, including leading scorer Stephen Holloway (Hamilton, New Zealand) and goalkeeper Art Satterwhite (Somerset, NJ/Franklin Township). They have a new head coach in Robert McCourt, a 1989 graduate of Adelphi University. “Monmouth will provide us with a great challenge,” Lopes said. “The match will be a good opportunity to see where we stand at the Division-I level.” NJIT is a public, scientific and technological research university enrolling more than 8,800 students. The university offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees to students in 80 degree programs. NJIT ranks among the top schools of U.S. News & World Report’s list of national doctoral universities. The Highlanders’ athletics department sponsors 14 NCAA Division-II varsity sports, seven for men and seven for women, plus Division-I men’s soccer. -- MARK MENTONE Coordinator of Sports Information Services, New Jersey Institute of Technology Information Director, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (973) 596-8324 FAX (973) 596-8440 | ||
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