Box score

Ewing, NJ ... The College of New Jersey men's soccer team advanced to the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship game winning a shootout 2-1 over Montclair State University.

The Lions (9-5-4) will take on sixth-seeded Kean University in the tournament final this Friday night at 7 p.m. at Lions' Stadium. The winner earns an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Championship tournament.

Goalkeeper Chris Kulick (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) entered the game for penalty kicks and was tremendous, stopping three out of four Red Hawk shots. Junior Ray Nelan (Haddon Heights, NJ/Haddon Heights), sophomore Vince McEnroe (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), and junior Dan Constants (Wayne, NJ/Wayne) all buried their attempts in the shootout, allowing TCNJ a shot at the title. Constants was the final shooter to convert, setting off a wild celebration at the stadium.

Montclair State (13-4-3) was eliminated from the NJAC tournament for the first time in five years. The Red Hawks had won four straight conference titles beginning in 2006.

The game was tied 1-1 through 110 minutes of play. The Lions got on the board just over three minutes into the second half to take a 1-0 lead. McEnroe drove a direct kick from 45 yards out to the foot of Mike Razzoli (Parlin, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) at the top corner of the box. The senior collected the ball, touched it, and drilled a shot from the right side into the left corner pocket. It was Razzoli's third goal in the last three games.

The Red Hawks tied the match in the 67th minute. Senior Larry Geraghty (Cranford, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep) sent a corner kick into the box. The ball was flicked and then batted out by sophomore keeper Adam Friedman (Chester, NJ/West Morris Mendham) but sophomore William O'Connor (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) was there to fire a shot into the open net to even the score. 

Kean defeated William Paterson University in a shootout to advance to the championship round. The Lions defeated the Cougars 2-1 on October 16. on goals by Nelan an junior Chris Pisano (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen).