Senior Night program

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's soccer team capped its season with a gratifying victory on Senior Night as they defeated Rowan University 2-0 on Wednesday evening in Lions Stadium.
 
Sophomore Thomas Hogue (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Bergen Catholic) and senior Jason O'Donnell (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) scored first-half goals for the Lions, who improved to 7-9-2 and 3-6 in New Jersey Athletic Conference play.
 
The outcome also eliminated the Profs (10-9, 4-5 NJAC) from the conference playoffs. Rowan needed a win to qualify, but came up short as William Paterson University and Richard Stockton College earned the final two spots in the six-team tournament.
 
Senior goalkeeper Maciej Libucha (Woodland Park, NJ/Passaic Valley) had another terrific game in net as he registered his third shutout of the season and sixth of his career. Rowan's Kevin Vasta (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) finished with eight saves in the contest.
 
TCNJ got on the board when Hogue scored a little over 20 minutes into the game. He came away with a loose ball in the box amongst two Rowan defenders and nestled a shot into the right pocket for his third goal of the season.
 
The Lions continued to apply pressure and broke through with a second goal in the 31^st minutes. Freshman Peter Dresch (Highland Park, NJ/St. Joseph's) took the ball down the left side and lofted a perfect cross to the head of O'Donnell. He directed his header into the left corner for his fourth goal of the season.
 
After the break, Rowan had one of its best scoring chances with 30 minutes to play. Brian Dziobak (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) flicked a head ball off a restart from midfield that just slipped over the cross bar. The Profs had another golden opportunity with 21:57 remaining when Parker Oris (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional) found the ball at his feet from 10 yards out. He ripped a shot but Libucha dove to his left to make the stop.
 
Rowan threw everything but the kitchen sink at TCNJ over the final 15 minutes of play. The Lions defensive backfield did a tremendous job of holding off numbers as the Profs played with a desperate sense of urgency until the final horn sounded.
 
The victory was sweetest for six seniors on TCNJ, who were playing their final collegiate game. Maciej Libucha (finance), Ryan Sullivan (civil engineering), Kevin McCartney (graphic design), David DeLooper (economics/marketing), Steve Cukar (special education/Spanish) and Jason O'Donnell (health and exercise science) were honored during a halftime ceremony and walked off the field winners when the final whistle sounded.