Box Score

Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey men's soccer team pushed unbeaten #17 Montclair State to their limit, but the Red Hawks (8-0-1) knocked in a loose ball off of a corner kick with 4:16 remaining to edge the Lions 1-0.

TCNJ (3-3-3) played a balanced match and were in position to hand Montclair State its first loss of the season. After a scoreless first half, TCNJ had the better part of play for the majority of the second period. Sophomore Ray Nelan (Haddon Heights, NJ/Haddon Heights) and classmate Michael Recchia (Wayside, NJ/Ocean Township) spearheaded several offensive attacks, but the Lions had difficulty penetrating a strong Montclair defense led by sophomore Kevin Brown (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley).

With senior Matt Erny (Delran, NJ/Delran) injured and Adam Dorflinger (Seargentsville, NJ/Hunterdon Central) unavailable to play, the Lions had their hands full defensively with Montclair State leading scorer Michael Cullen (Clementon, NJ/Highland) and freshman Sean Tyree (Somerset, NJ/South Brunswick. Senior Anthony Staropoli (Raritan, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) dropped back from the midfield, and along with junior Mike Razzoli (Parlin, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy), junior Philip Cunha (Milford, NJ/Immaculata), kept both explosive players in check throughout the game. Cunha also made several productive runs out of the backfield that created scoring chances for TCNJ.

After a Red Hawk shot was deflected out of bounds, Tyree sent a corner kick to the far post. The ball was headed down in front of the goal mouth, and after a scramble, found the right foot of sophomore Mike Pytlar (Califon, NJ/West Morris) who deposited the game-winner.

Freshman Adam Friedman (Chester, NJ/West Morris Menham) had three saves for the Lions, while Teddy Ritter (Belford, NJ/Middletown North) needed only three stops to earn his eighth win of the season.

The Lions will look to bounce back when they host NJAC opponent Rutgers University-Camden on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. Montclair State will host conference foe Kean University on Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. and attempt to set an NCAA record by winning their 41st consecutive home match.