EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's soccer team played to a scoreless draw against Rutgers-Newark on Homecoming Saturday.
With the result, the Lions (5-0-7, 1-0-3) set a new program record with 12 consecutive matches unbeaten to open a season.
TCNJ dominated possession in the early going, tilting the field in its favor and preventing the Scarlet Raiders (5-2-4, 2-1-1) from finding any semblance of rhythm on attack.
Newark, however, did manage the first shot on goal, a glancing header from Zahradeen Amadou in the 14
th minute that
Sean Najdzinowicz easily went down to scoop. The Scarlet Raiders grew into the game from there and came within inches of an opener at the midway point of the first half, but Augusto Vieira saw his header bounce narrowly wide of the right post on a cross from the left side.
Bryan Valdes' 30-yard rocket forced a diving save out of Najdzinowicz in the 33
rd minute, the last opportunity of the first half for either side.
Najdzinowicz needed to sprawl to his left to make another diving save early in the second half, tipping Amadou's left-footed effort wide of the right post before Daniel Velazquez sent a shot just wide of the same post from the top of the box following the corner kick.
The Lions finally generated a golden chance in the 58
th minute, when
Rory Grace chipped a pass over the Newark back line and onto the feet of
Chris Meder, whose one-on-one effort was stonewalled by Raiders keeper David Bejarano. Meder had another opportunity a minute later, latching onto a long ball from
Manny Thacher and sending a hard right-footed shot into the midsection of Bejarano as the netminder rushed out to challenge.
TCNJ nearly drew first blood once again in the 64
th minute, but
Tye Maser's rising header slipped inches wide of the right post at the end of a well-placed free kick from
Aidan Grund. Continuing to push,
Matias Hornos dribbled between a pair of defenders and into the box a few minutes later and had a tight-angled shot parried away by a reflex save from Bejarano before
Matt Will was narrowly offside on the follow.
Just past the 19-minute mark of the second half, Grund's left-footed cross found Grace at the far post, but the sophomore's header sailed over the bar.
The Lions caught a break in the 78
th minute, when a Newark player was given a second yellow card after a collision outside the box. Now up a man for the last 12:28, the Blue & Gold went right to work, and Meder was once again mere inches from an opener as the senior had the ball bounce to him just outside the six-yard box after a scuffle in the box.
Despite playing with 10, Newark had a chance in the dying moments as Chihiro Suenaga had a look from the edge of the box following a transition opportunity. Najzdinowicz got up to his left to punch the ball out for a corner, which failed to generate a final chance.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Rutgers-Newark held a 12-8 advantage in shots, putting six of them on goal to three for the Lions
- The Scarlet Raiders earned five corners to TCNJ's three
STANDOUT LIONS
- Najdzinowicz finished with six saves to keep the visitors off the board
- Meder led all players with four shots, two of them on frame
- Hornos got off two shots in his debut
NOTES
- Saturday's match was a critical one; both TCNJ (28) and Newark (32) came in above the projected cut-line for an at-large NCAA bid in the NPI rankings; TCNJ has also earned draws with No. 8 Rowan, No. 20 Montclair State, and No. 39 Ithaca
- Najdzinowicz collected his eighth career shutout, moving him into a tie for 8th in program history; thanks in large part to the sophomore and the stout back line in front of him, the Lions posted clean sheets against the top two scoring offenses in the NJAC (Montclair State and Rutgers-Newark)
- Hornos' season debut marked his 50th career appearance at TCNJ
UP NEXT
- The Lions head to William Paterson for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Wednesday, October 14
