EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ men's soccer team lost a physical, intense matchup in its NJAC opener to Ramapo by a score of 1-0 on Saturday.
 
Trailing by a goal at the end of the first half, the Lions were gifted an opportunity early in the second half when Roadrunners goalkeeper Matthew Wilcox was given a straight red card for tackling Justin Dominique well outside the box on a breakaway.
 
The Lions spent the majority of the second half with a man advantage but were not able to find the equalizer despite a handful of golden opportunities. 
 
Ramapo opened the scoring in the 23^rd minute on a corner kick that was headed out of the reach of Julian Franco to give the Roadrunners the lead. The opener was an unfortunate momentum-turner for the Lions, who had one-way traffic going toward the Ramapo goal for much of the early going.

TCNJ came within a whisker of taking the lead itself just over seven minutes after kickoff, when Bobby Hunter's one-timer rang off the left post after a pinpoint cross from Dominique. The ball rebounded out to Massimo Rodio, whose right-footed effort was somehow kicked out for a corner by the outstretched boot of the Ramapo keeper.
 
Despite taking a loss on the record, Franco was sensational. He was just one save shy of his career high with eight on Saturday afternoon. It seemed at times that if not for Franco, the margin of victory for the Roadrunners would have been different.
 
The Lions had their best chance to tie the game in the 82^nd minute, when Dominique had a seemingly clear look on goal with Ramapo's second keeper removed from the net to contest a cross. He sent in a shot that looked like it was well on its way into the net, but a Ramapo defender stepped in the way to volley the ball out for a corner.

Luke Pascarella paced the Lions with four shots, including a pair on frame. TCNJ was outshot, 15-11, for the contest, but held an 11-5 edge in corners and had eight corner opportunities in the second half alone.
 
TCNJ will regroup and prepare for a short road trip to Kean on Wednesday, when the Lions will take on the Cougars at 7:30 PM.