Montclair, NJ (10/30/04) - Senior midfielder ANDREW MACHO (right) scored on a penalty kick just before halftime as fourth-seeded Montclair State edged No. 5 seed Ramapo College, 1-0, in the opening round of the 2004 New Jersey Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament held at MSU Soccer Park on Saturday afternoon.

Montclair State (14-3-2) now advances to meet top-seed and defending champion Rowan University in the semifinals of the tournament on Tuesday, November 2 in Glassboro. It will be the second meeting between the Red Hawks and Profs this year with Rowan picking up a 3-0 victory at MSU on October 16. Last year, Rowan topped Montclair State, 4-1 in the semifinals en route to the conference title.Patrick Jagodzinski had five saves for the Roadrunners (11-5-1), who lost their third straight and fell to Montclair State for the second time this month. MSU posted a 2-0 win over Ramapo at Sprague Field on October 2.

Scoreless heading into the final two minutes of the first half, sophomore KEVIN BURKHARDT was taken down inside the scoring area with 1:58 before halftime and Montclair State was awarded a penalty kick. Macho then stepped to the line and fired a shot the got inside the left post past Jagodzinski for the lone score of the game. It was Macho's third tally of the season. From there, the game became a defensive battle with few scoring opportunities until the final five minutes. MSU's MATT BEHEN served a ball across to RYAN MORGAN, whose golden chance was stopped by a sliding defender. Ramapo then had its last opportunity inside three minutes as it moved down inside the 18 yard line. But Josh Taylor's header went just wide to the left side keeping Montclair State in front. CHRIS OWEN made just one stop as he posted his seventh shutout of the season.

Montclair State outshot Ramapo, 21-10 and held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.