Jersey City, NJ - No. 8 ranked Montclair State University scored on its first two shots of the game in a span of 64 seconds in the first three minutes of the game and the Red Hawks clinched a berth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament by outlasting New Jersey City University, 4-1, in an NJAC men's soccer game on October 19 at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field.
 
NJCU (6-8-1, 2-5-0 NJAC) outshot Montclair in each half and held a 23-21 margin for the game but was only able to find the net once. MSU improved 12-2-2 overall and 4-1-2 in the NJAC, and is 5-0-1 in its last six outings. The Red Hawks entered the game ranked No. 8 nationally by D3soccer.com and sixth in the NCAA Division III South Atlantic Regional rankings by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
 
The NJCU goal did snap Montclair's three-game shutout streak and ended the squad's scoreless minutes streak at 351:26 dating to October 2.
 
Montclair sophomore midfielder Lucas Terci (Union, NJ, Union) scored the first and third goals of the game in the 2nd and 41st minutes and assisted on the second marker in the 3rd minute to drive the offensive effort for the visitors. He upped his season totals to six goals, 13 assists and 25 points with the five-point effort. He leads the NJAC in assists this season.
 
NJCU junior center midfielder Kelvin Flores (Hightstown, NJ/Hightstown) gave NJCU life with a 57th minute diving header-his second goal of the year-off a beautiful cross from sophomore midfielder Aboubacar Diawara (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), who chalked up his second assist.
 
Sophomore forward Trey Leggett (Stockton, NJ, Hunterdon Central) and junior forward Brian Cullen (Clementon, NJ, Highland Regional) were responsible for MSU's other two goals. Sophomore defender Brendan Guzman (Clifton, NJ, Clifton) assisted on the fourth MSU tally.
 
Rookie Nick Nardone (North Arlington, NJ/Queen of Peace) made six saves for NJCU, playing the final 58:15 of the action in place of starting keeper and junior Ruben Morales (Princeton, NJ/Princeton), who stopped three shots before leaving with an injury. Each keeper allowed two goals. Freshman back Santiago Lopez-Correa (North Bergen, NJ/Belleville) had a defensive team save in the 55th minute on a rebound look by Cullen.
 
Montclair freshman goalkeeper Michael Gonzalez (Kenilworth, NJ, Union Catholic), the NJAC's Rookie of the Week in the previous two weeks, made six saves while allowing just his third goal in 10 games this season over 679 minutes of action. Junior midfielder Maxx Wurzburger (Glen Rock, NJ, Glen Rock) had a team save on a 47th minute shot.
 
Montclair got on the board just 1:37 into the action. A long ball was played downfield by the Hawks over the defense and Morales sprinted to try to clear the ball outside the right wing. However Terci beat him to the ball outside the box, made an elusive move and slipped an uncontested shot from 15 yards on the far right wing into the nylon.
 
Just 64 seconds later, MSU scored an impressive goal as Terci aired a cross from the right corner of the field inside the six where Leggett was waiting on the left post for a one-timer at 2:41 for a 2-0 cushion; the goal was Leggett's third.
 
Diawara, who along with senior defensive center midfielder Mohamed Conteh (Trenton, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro North) had a game-high five shots each, ripped a shot in the 22nd minute that Gonzalez tipped over the crossbar. Rookie midfielder Davauni Brown (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) had another good look in the 37th minute before Gonzalez made a diving stop.
 
MSU extended the lead to 3-0 at halftime in the 41st minute as Terci was awarded a free kick from outside the box on the left wing and curled a sensational goal around a diving Nardone and off his fully-extended 6-foot-1 frame and fingertips, into the far right side netting at 40:13.
 
Early in the second half NJCU had another great scoring chance. Conteh unleashed a shot that was going in before a leaping Wurzburger headed the ball off the right post and seconds later Gonzalez stopped the rebound opportunity by sophomore defender Christopher Segovia (North Bergen, NJ/Memorial).
 
NJCU finally broke through in the 57th minute. Conteh threaded a pass onto the left wing to Diawara, who dribbled along the endline and delivered a pin-point cross into the box where a diving Flores headed a scintillating and unstoppable ball into the right side of the net.
 
But any chance of an NJCU comeback was thwarted in the 66th minute. Guzman bent a free kick from the right wing near sideline into the box where Cullen one-timed a shot inside the left post from five yards for his ninth goal of the year and the final 4-1 advantage.

The Red Hawks are back in action on Monday, October 21 as they host NYU-Polytechnic at MSU Soccer Park beginning at 7:00 pm.

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