Camden,NJ (9/29/07) – The Montclair State University men's soccer team, the defending New Jersey Athletic Conference champion, scored a pair of first-half goals, each assisted by sophomore midfielder JOSEPH CULLEN (Clementon, NJ/Highland) and went on to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 2-0, in a conference game here Saturday night.

The Red Hawks, currently ranked No. 13 in the d3kicks.com Division III national poll, improve to 9-1-1 overall and 4-1 in the NJAC with their sixth win in the last seven games. Rutgers-Camden, which received seven votes toward the d3kicks.com national poll last week, falls to 6-4-1 and 2-1-1, snapping a five-game unbeaten streak in which the Scarlet Raptors went 4-0-1.

The speedy Red Hawks didn't take long to strike. Only five minutes into the game, Cullen and leading scorer TYLER MASTERSON (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) hooked up on a series of give-and-go passes along the left side, with Cullen finally feeding Masterson, who blasted his eighth goal of the season high into the right side of the net.

Later in the half, Cullen sent a beautiful cross into the box from the left side that found sophomore JOHN ESPOSITO (Hillside, NJ/Hillside). Esposito finished off his third goal of the season with a shot into the right side of the net at 22:37.

Each team held a 7-4 advantage in shots during one half, with MSU getting the most opportunities in the opening half and Rutgers-Camden holding the edge in the final 45 minutes as both teams collected 11 shots. Rutgers-Camden held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks, including a 5-1 margin in the second half.

Montclair State junior goalie NICK MELE (Delran, NJ/Delran) notched his seventh shutout of the season, making five saves. Rutgers-Camden senior keeper Brent Grunow (Estell Manor, NJ/Buena Regional) had two saves.

Both teams return to action with non-conference games next week. Rutgers-Camden travels to Philadelphia Biblical University Monday for a 4 p.m. contest. Montclair State hosts Mitchell College Wednesday at 4 p.m.