LAKEWOOD, NJ (Oct. 1, 2025) - Georgian Court Men's Soccer played a complete 90 minutes on both sides of the ball as they picked up their second consecutive win. They held one of the top scoring teams in the CACC without a goal and were able to finish two chances for a 2-0 win. It's the second straight shutout win for GCU who improve to 2-4-3 and win their first conference game to move to 1-2.

How it Happened
• With both teams playing a counter-attacking style, it was a fast-paced game with a lot of ball movement. 
• Possession numbers were close with Chestnut Hill holding a slight advantage.
• Despite that, GCU was able to hold an advantage in shots, 19-12 and shots on goal, 12-7.
• The Griffins earned seven corner kicks to GCU's three.
• Both teams were issued two yellow cards. Georgian Court was called for 13 fouls and the Griffins nine.

1st Half
• Plans immediately changed for Chestnut Hill as right before kickoff, the Griffins made a change in net and inserted Max Bond in goal.
• He was tested immediately, but made a save on Jack Pollintine-Smith.
• Ayendi Batista matched Bond with a save for the Lions in the 12th minute to keep the game scoreless.
• Georgian Court had an outstanding chance just two minutes later. After their first corner kick was low and kicked out, they got a second chance. This was a better service and the ball bounced around before finding the feet of reigning CACC Player of the Week Gijs van Eif. Unfortunately, van Eif's attempt rang off the crossbar and stayed out.
• Nine minutes layer, van Eif got another chance. Two actually. His first was stopped by Bond, but he couldn't corral it. That allowed Pollintine-Smith to maintain possession, pass back to van Eif, who finally hit the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
• Not long after the goal, Chestnut Hill had their best chance of the day. A turnover left one of their most dangerous forwards, Abdoulaye Kamagate, open in front of the net. His attempt though sailed high over the crossbar and harmlessly out of play.
• Georgian Court followed that with back-to-back shots that were stopped by Bond in the 41st minute and after the first half, the score was 1-0 in favor of the Lions.

2nd Half
• Each team had a quick scoring opportunity to start the half that the goaltenders were able to stop.
• Similar to the first half, both teams were generating pressure and creating scoring opportunities, but the goals still weren't coming.
• In the 62nd minute, CHC had another high-risk chance. A foul near the top of the box gave the Griffins a free kick from a dangerous spot. The ball was served into the box and it was Kamagate again with a chance to tie. This time his shot was on target, but Batista made an outstanding diving save, pushing the ball into the post and it stayed out.
• With just over five minutes left to play, the combination of Pollintine-Smith and van Eif struck again. Pollintine-Smith worked hard to get possession in Griffin territory, passed to van Eif in the box who finished for his second goal of the game.
• Lennard Altreuther nearly put the finishing touches on the game, but his shot hit the post, the third shot off the post in the game.
• No matter though, as the clock wound down and GCU held on for a 2-0 win.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Van Eif picked up both Lion goals in seven shots, five on net.
• Pollintine-Smith needed just 33 minutes on the field to tally both assists.
• Ayendi Batista made seven saves for the shutout.
• Lennard Altreuther took four shots, three on net and one off the post.

For the Griffins
• Max Bond did all he could making 10 saves.
• Abdoulaye Kamagate took six shots, four on goal.

News and Notes
• Van Eif has now scored seven time in his last three games.
• He's up to 26 career goals, just the third Lion to ever score 25 in a career. 
• Batista has record back-to-back shutouts. It's his sixth career shutout which puts him in a tie for third all-time at GCU. 
• Twice last season Batista has pitched back-to-back shutouts. In fact, every time Batista kept a clean sheet, he's followed it up with a second one.
• Joseph Juarez played in his 40th career game.
• Happy birthday to Lions head coach Dino Raso. This is the third time GCU has played on his birthday and his first win. He's now 1-1-1 with the Lions on his birthday.

Up Next
• Georgian Court stays at home for Homecoming. They Lions will host Caldwell Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12:30 pm. The Homecoming festivities kickoff at 10 am with the GCU Women's Soccer Team hosting Caldwell. GCU Volleyball plays host to Bridgeport at 3:30 pm.