Montclair , NJ (10/31/07) – Montclair State University freshman forward AYTAC MALTA (Lake Hiawatha, NJ/Parsippany) headed in a cross from sophomorer midfielder JOHN ESPOSITO (Hillside, NJ / Hillside) in the 57 minute and the Red Hawk defense, led by junior goalkeeper NICK MELE (Delran, NJ/Delran) recorded its 13th shutout of the season as #13 ranked MSU defeated #7 ranked NJCU in the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship game for the second consecutive season, claiming the 2007 title with a 1-0 victory at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.

A crowd of 333 witnessed the game contested under heavy winds from Tropical Storm Noel.

MSU, the No. 2 seed in the NJAC Tournament, wins its second straight conference title and the eighth in school history, winning back-to-back crowns for the first time since 1971 and 1972 while being the first NJAC team to win consecutive titles since Richard Stockton in 2001 and 2002. The Red Hawks (17-2-1), ranked #13 nationally by D3Kicks.com and #16 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament and will compete in the NCAAs next week.

MSU has won four consecutive games and 10 of 11 overall since September 26, with its only loss in that span a 3-0 setback against NJCU in the regular season meeting on October 13.

NJCU (16-4-1), the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the conference regular season champions, entered ranked No. 7 by the NSCAA. NJCU, which also entered the game ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III Metro Regional rankings for all three weeks the poll was conducted this year, will likely receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. If not, NJCU's season should continue in the ECAC Metro Tournament. The field will be announced on Monday, November 5 at 11 a.m.

The Knights had their nine-game unbeaten streak snapped, having entered the game with a 13-1-1 mark in their last 15 outings. It was NJCU's third ever appearance in the NJAC title match (2001, 2006, 2007) and the third time the Knights came up short. In last year's final in Montclair, the Hawks won 2-1 in double overtime. NJCU is 4-7-1 in 12 all-time NJAC Tournament games. The loss was only NJCU's second this year at home (10-2)—both coming against nationally-ranked opponents. NJCU is 3-2 this year against ranked teams. MSU leads the all-time series, 36-9-5.

In a game where NJCU outshot Montclair, 19-12, including 11-3 in the first half, the Knights had the first 10 shots of the game. MSU had a 9-8 edge in second-half shots. The only shot MSU would wind up needing came at 56:34. Esposito, who recorded his fifth assist of the season, lofted a cross in the air from the right sideline into the box, about 30 yards out. There, an unmarked Malta headed a perfect shot that just tucked underneath the middle of the crossbar, over leaping NJCU freshman goalkeeper ANDRE VIOLA (Clifton, NJ/St. Joseph's Regional (Montvale)). It was his sixth goal of the year.

From there, MSU limited NJCU's dangerous chances to preserve the shutout and win the championship. At 62:17, the Knights had back-to-back shots with Mele out of position, but both were blocked. Mele also made a great diving stop on a hard shot by sophomore midfielder JOHN BERNAL (Paterson, NJ/Inem (Medellin, Colombia) at 84:54, which proved to be NJCU's final solid chance.

Mele finished with eight saves for MSU, which also had one team save. It was the 17th win of the season for Mele as he tied Jim Stahl (1988) for the single-season record for goalkeepeing victories. In addition it was career win No. 34 for Mele, who surpassed current assistant coach Chris Owen for third place on the all-time list. Viola made three saves for NJCU. He had allowed just one goal over 651:54 entering the game