Oneonta, NY - Junior midfielder Dan Mendoza (Hackensack, NJ, Hackensack) scored in the 69th minute which turned out to get the difference as Montclair State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship with a 2-1 victory over Salve Regina at Oneonta State on Saturday.

Freshman Lucas Terci (Union, NJ, Union) had a goal for the Red Hawks (18-2), who will face host Oneonta in Sunday's second round at 1:30 pm. The winner advances to next week's Sectional Tournament. Oneonta defeated MIT in the other first round contest to set up a match between half of the 2011 NCAA Men's Soccer Final Four field.

Both MSU and Oneonta advanced to San Antonio last year with each team falling in thr semifinals. Oneonta lost to Calvin while Montclair State was beaten by eventual national champion Ohio Wesleyan. It will be the second meeting between the teams as they played to a scoreless draw in Oneonta two years ago in the Mayor's Cup. Montclair advanced on penalty kicks, 5-4.

Montclair (18-2) carried the play throughout the first half, out shooting Salve Regina (16-6-1) 13-1.  Fortunately for the Seahawks, Montclair only put one to the back of the goal.
 
Midway through the opening half of play, the Red Hawks turned a throw in into a goal.  Terci collected the throw from sophomore Brian Cullen (Clementon, NJ, Highland Regional), took one touch and blasted a shot from 25 yards out that found the upper right corner of the goal.
 
“My guys came out on fire today,” said Montclair coach Todd Tumelty.  “We played an up-tempo style of soccer that we talk about all the time.”
 
“We had a certain amount of anxiousness in the first half,” said Seahawks coach Craig O'Rourke.
 
The momentum seemed to shift dramatically at the start of the second half, as the Seahawks began to generate multiple scoring chances early.  Salve Regina's hard work finally paid off in the 61st minute when they scored the equalizer.
 
Sophomore forward Alex Wasilewski took a pass into the box by classmate Issa Demirgioglu and was able to get a shot off that sailed into the upper right corner of the goal.
 
The goal by Salve Regina seemed to reignite Montclair, as they picked the pace back up.  In the 69^th minute, the Red Hawks went ahead 2-1 on Mendoza's 10th goal of the year.
 
Mendoza received a pass from the right flank where he was able to free himself before rifling a shot by Jeffrey L'Heureaux.  L'Heureaux finished the game with a pair of saves.
 
“In the second half I thought we did a better job of attacking them,” continued O'Rourke.  “Hats off to Montclair on a spectacular effort today.  They were the better team on this day.”
 
“Being a young team, we are still working on closing out games,” said Tumelty.  “Salve Regina never gave up and I give them credit for fighting to the end.”

Anthony Rogic (Boonton, NJ, Morris Catholic) had three saves for MSU.