Ewing, NJ (11/4/06) - For the fourth time in five years, The College of New Jersey and Montclair State University met up for the New Jersey Athletic Conference women's soccer championship. This time around, however, the Lions were able to score some revenge on the Red Hawks by scoring a 1-0 victory at TCNJ's Soccer Complex on Saturday.
Two years ago, the two teams battled to a scoreless tie in the NJAC Championship, but Montclair State earned the title via penalty kicks bringing a halt to TCNJ's five-year run as conference champions. The Lions have now won 11 of the 13 titles in tournament history, including the last two.
By winning the tournament championship, TCNJ also claimed the NJAC's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships. The tournament pairings will be announced on Monday.
The top-seeded Lions (14-1-2) netted the only goal of the game with 32:04 left on the clock as sophomore Jamie Kunkel (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) tucked a shot into the upper right corner for her fifth goal of the season.
Montclair goalie Kristen Kuhmann (Beachwood, NJ/Toms River South), the 2006 NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year, finished with 10 saves as she became Montclair State's all-time leader in that category. Kuhmann surpassed Stephanie Romanko's mark of 356 set from 1999-2002. Kuhmann now has 363 in her career.
TCNJ keeper Jessica Clarke (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) collected her ninth shutout of the season without having to face a shot.
For the game, the Lions held a 25-3 advantage in shots and 11-1 in corner kicks.
With the loss, the second-seeded Red Hawks fell to 12-6-3 and will now await to see if they receive one of the at-large bids to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
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