MONTCLAIR, N.J. - The NJAC Tournament has long been lauded as a place where heroes are made as programs look to make one final push toward an NCAA Tournament bid. And there was no bigger hero in Wednesday night's semifinal than Chris Meder, who scored a career-best four goals to lead the TCNJ men's soccer team to a stunning, 4-1 victory over top seed and 20th-ranked Montclair State and punch the Lions their ticket to the NJAC Championship for the first time since 2010.
 
Both sides appeared to shake off some nerves in the opening 10 minutes of Wednesday's semifinal before Meder's began his historic night with the game's first goal at the 13:26 mark.
 
TCNJ (11-4-5) did well to keep possession in its own half to generate the scoring chance, moving the ball until it settled at the feet of Lawrence Mancino. The sophomore carried it toward midfield and sent a long pass to Meder on the right sideline, who made a move to beat his defender and get into the box before firing a low shot that snuck under the gloves of Pierre Soumeillant and into the bottom corner to give the Lions the all-important 1-0 advantage.
 
The Red Hawks (12-2-5) turned the pressure on in search of an equalizer, but Sean Najdzinowicz did well to save the only shot that tested him to send TCNJ into the break up 1-0.
 
With the match still up for grabs entering the second half, it was Meder and Najdzinowicz slamming the door shut with a pair of performances that will go down in the Lions history books.
 
The NJAC's Goalkeeper of the Year was the first to make his mark in the final 45, making a miraculous save on a header from Tomas Montiero to keep Montclair State off the board 11 minutes in. To the Red Hawks' dismay, the freshman's save also served as an outlet pass for a TCNJ counterattack. The Lions failed to convert on their first opportunity, but quickly regained possession thanks to Matias Hornos, with the junior sending a perfectly weight pass to Meder who ripped a shot that ricocheted off Soumeillant's body as well as the right post before trickling in to double TCNJ's lead.
 
A Montclair State goal was sandwiched between Meder's third and fourth scores of the night – assisted by Aidan Ayar and Hornos respectively – before it was Najdzinowicz stepping up with three highlight-reel saves in the span of just over a minute to keep the Red Hawks at arms length as time continued to wind down. The Lions regained possession with two minutes on the clock and would not give it up from there, with the final buzzer securing TCNJ the 4-1 victory and a spot in Saturday's NJAC Championship game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Montclair State outshot the Lions 27-15 on the night, but it was TCNJ who held an 8-7 edge in shots on goal.
• The Red Hawks finished with eight corners to the Lions' seven.
• Meder's four goals came on a game-high eight shots, six of which were on frame.
• Najdzinowicz made six saves in the freshman's eighth win of the season.

NOTES

• TCNJ will be playing in the NJAC Championship game for the first time since 2010.
  • The Lions last won the conference title in 2005.
• TCNJ remains undefeated against Montclair State in the NJAC Tournament, moving to 4-0.
• This is the Lions' first road win in the series since 2002.
• TCNJ's 11 wins are the programs most in a single season since 2013.
• Meder is the first Lions player to score four goals in a single game since 2017.
• Meder's four goals push his season tally to 13, tying him for the 10th most in a single season in program history.
  • The junior is also the first player in program history to total at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season since Jason Cairns did so in 1997.

UP NEXT

• TCNJ is headed to Glassboro Saturday, Nov. 8 to face off against third-seeded Rowan in the NJAC Championship. The battle for the title is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.