Box Score  

FINAL SCORE: The College of New Jersey 13; LaSalle 12
The College of New Jersey (2-1) vs. LaSalle University (0-3)
September 21, 2007; McCarthy Stadium; Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, PA (9/21/07) – For the second straight year, TCNJ's senior kicker Matt Dalessio (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) provided the winning play as the Lions of The College of New Jersey tallied a win over LaSalle University on Friday at McCarthy Stadium. TCNJ has now won four straight over the Explorers and leads the series history 4-1. Dalessio hit a 28-yard field goal with 42 seconds left to play to give TCNJ 13-12 win on the road on Friday. TCNJ is now 2-1 overall, while LaSalle drops to 0-3 on the 2007 campaign.

TCNJ struck first as senior kicker Matt Dalessio collected a 43-yard field goal at 0:20 in the first quarter to cap a 10 play, 29 yard drive. The 43 yard field goal was a career best for the senior.

The Lions struck again in the second quarter as TCNJ's sophomore quarterback Chris James (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) found sophomore Lee Jones (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) from 39 yards out to give TCNJ a 10-0 lead in the waning moments of the first quarter at 1:32.

LaSalle answered back with a touchdown of their own at 1:08 as junior quarterback Chris Hansen (Southampton, PA/Archbishop Wood) found sophomore wide receiver Gabe Guerrerri (Ventnor, NJ/Holy Spirit) for a 32 yard touchdown pass only to have the point after try by junior Anthony Perlozzo (Ocean City, MD/Stephen Decatur) blocked. The Lions took a 10-6 halftime lead into the locker room.

LaSalle had their first lead of the game as Hansen hit senior John McEvy (Langhorne, PA/Notre Dame) from five yards out with 1:34 left in the third quarter on a nine-play drive that lasted 4:29 and gave the Explorers a 12-10 lead as Perlozzo's PAT failed. TCNJ was called for two pass interference penalties on the drive.

Senior Dan Dornacker (Jersey City, NJ/Brick) posted his second straight 100 yard rushing performance after adding 119 yards on the night on 17 carries. He racked up 62 rushing yards in the first half with a long of 44 yards as TCNJ had 168 first half yards of total offense, while the Lions defense held LaSalle to 25 first half yards on the ground and a net of 120 yards of total offense in the first stanza while also holding the home team to an 0-6 effort on third down conversions.

Jones added 68 receiving yards in the victory on six catches. He had 67 first half receiving yards on five catches including a long of 39 yards. James ended the evening having completed 12 –of-22 passes for 143 yards with a touchdown, an interception. He added four carries for 12 yards rushing as the Lions finished the night with 337 net yards on 63 plays, while LaSalle added 196 yards on the night on 63 plays despite holding an advantage in time of possession (31:25 to 28:35).

Hansen ended the night having made 14 of 24 pass attempts for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns having been sacked by TCNJ twice. Guerrerri had three catches for 45 yards with a score, while McVey added five catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Freshman runningback Deric Dudinski (Sterling, VA/Park View) led the Explorers on the ground with 15 carries for 58 yards.

A year ago, Dalessio hit a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter with only 6:21 left to play to break a 21-21 tie and give TCNJ a 24-21 win.

Senior lineman Joe King (Mountainside, NJ/Gov. Livingston) led the Lions with his two sacks for -21 yards while adding eight tackles and a pass break up. Senior defensive back Andrew Larkin (Hamilton Square, NJ/Notre Dame) added eight tackles as well for the Lions with a pass breakup on the night.

TCNJ returns to action next Friday with home contest against the Red Hawks of Montclair State University. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Lions' Stadium.