MONTCLAIR – Montclair State’s Men’s Soccer team is headed back to the NJAC tournament finals after defeating the Rutgers-Newark University Scarlet Raiders 4-0 at MSU Soccer Park Tuesday night.
The Red Hawks had an outstanding regular season and came into the season with a shot at redemption in the NJAC tournament. Montclair State is hosting the NJAC tournament for the second time in three years. This is the first time these teams have met in the postseason since 2017.
First Half
The Red Hawks and Scarlet Raiders each came into the first half on fire. The first possession of the ball went to the Raptors. Both Montclair State and Rutgers-Newark earned penalty kicks, and both were fouls.
Fifteen minutes into the half, Montclair State scored first when Sebastian Lapczynski assisted Tomas Monteiro’s goal. The rest of the half was a lot of back and forth from both sides. Both teams took many shots, but none were successful. At the end of the first half, the Red Hawks would lead the Scarlet Raptors 1-0.
Second Half
It all came down to this in the second half. Montclair State had possession throughout the first 10 minutes of the half. The Red Hawks pulled through in the first 10 minutes. Kevin Contreras assisted Josh Virgil on a high left goal. Just 15 minutes later, Montclair State struck again. Virgil assisted Monteiro in shooting a lower left goal.
The Scarlet Raiders were trying to benefit from the penalties that Montclair State had committed, but that did not end well for them because in Red Hawk fashion they took advantage of those fouls. One minute later, Robby Dasler assisted Logan Neno for the final goal of the game.
Montclair State University defeated Rutgers University-Newark in a shutout 4-0. Head Coach of Montclair State Men’s Soccer Todd Tumelty described the momentum that his team has going into Friday’s NJAC Tournament final. “The guys are excited to have the home field advantage but it is going to be a very difficult game.”
Moving Forward
Montclair State will advance to the NJAC championship game on Friday November 6 to play second-seeded Rowan University at 7 p.m. This will be the first time since 2023 that the Montclair State Men’s Soccer team has advanced to the NJAC championship game.
