Montclair, NJ (09/22/04) - Freshman MATT BEHEN and sophomore ILYAS TASCI scored consecutive goals over a nine-minute span in the second half to lead Montclair State past backyard rival William Paterson, 2-0, Wednesday night at Wightman Field.

With the victory, the Red Hawks, ranked No. 19 in the country, improve to 7-0-1 overall and 2-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Pioneers fall to 1-7 overall and 0-2 in the NJAC.

The game remained scoreless through the first 64 minutes, but at 64:45, Behen beat a defender on the left side of the 18 and fired a low shot to the near post for his first goal of the season.

In the 74th minute, Tasci collected a corner kick in the front of the goal box from junior midfielder SEAN HORAN and knocked in a shot from 20 yards away.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Nuss stopped eight shots for William Paterson. Meanwhile, junior keeper CHRIS OWEN made three saves for Montclair State in recording his fifth shutout of the season and fourth straight. Owen has not surrendered a goal in his last 390 minutes of action..

The Red Hawks stay on the road for their next game. Montclair State travels to Kean on Saturday, September 25 for a 2:00 pm meeting with the Cougars. Last year the teams played to a 2-2 tie as Kean scored two goals inside the final 20 minutes to forge the tie.