Montclair, NJ – Sophomore midfielder Taylor Lusardi (Randolph, NJ / Randolph) buried the decisive penalty kick in the fourth round as ninth-ranked and second-seeded The College of New Jersey reclaimed the New Jersey Athletic Conference title knocking off top-ranked and top-seeded Montclair State in penalty kicks 4-2 at MSU Soccer Park on Friday evening.
The penalty kicks came after the two squads played to a scoreless draw for 110 minutes.
The Lions (16-2-2) converted all four attempts as it captured its 16th conference crown and fourth in the last five years. TCNJ also captured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship which gets underway next weekend. The selections and pairings will be announced on Monday, November 11 at 1:30 on NCAA.com.
Montclair State had its 18-game winning streak snapped will also wait for the selections as well as the Red Hawks (18-0-1) are expected to claim one of the at-large bids. MSU was ranked No. 1 in the South Atlantic Regional rankings heading into Friday's championship contest.
MSU went first and missed its first attempt allowing the Lions to grab a 1-0 lead as Jordan Downs (Brick, NJ / Brick Memorial) hit the back of the net. Montclair's Melissa Koster made it 1-1 however Shannon White (New Providence, NJ / New Providence) followed with a conversion giving the Lions the 2-1 advantage. Montclair State would miss again allowing New Jersey to gain some breathing which it did as Lauren Giles (Deptford, NJ / Deptford) struck making the score 3-1.
Junior
Francesca Gibson (Cape May, NJ, Lower Cape May Regional) kept Montclair's hopes alive as she converted to start the fourth round however Lusardi ended that with her kick.
Tonight's championship game was the fifth time the two schools have met for the NJAC championship with TCNJ claiming four of those matches as it defeated Montclair State in 2002, 2003 and 2006. The Red Hawks, who won the title last year in the same fashion, captured the 2004 title in penalty kicks.
Senior goalkeeper Kendra Griffith (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill West) made seven saves in recording her seven shutout of the season while NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year
Gina Policastro (East Brunswick, NJ, East Brunswick) made a season-high nine saves as the two teams battled through 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.
TCNJ grabbed control early with four shots in the first 20 minutes that Policastro stopped. Later in the period it was Montclair's turn with four chances, including a header by
Melanie Greco (Bridgewater, NJ, Bridgewater-Raritan) at 34:10 that was snared by Griffith. The Lions nearly grabbed the lead seven minutes later however Christine Levering's (Robbinsville, NJ / Robbinsville) shot hit off the post. Griffith made two saves in the final minute of the half as the game remained scoreless after one period.
In the second half, Montclair and TCNJ continued the battle with Griffith and Policastro each making saves while defenders thwarted several other chances with blocked shots. MSU may have gotten the best chance at 59:19 but the Red Hawks got an unlucky break when a shot by
Janae Geonnetti (Mount Laurel, NJ, Paul VI) clanked off the crossbar.
Griffth made the only save in the first overtime and each keeper had one stop in the final 10 minutes before penalty kicks.
TCNJ, which fell to MSU 1-0 in the regular-season meeting back on September 28, outshot the Red Hawks 21-19. The 21 shots were by far the most allowed by Montclair State season as it had surrendered just 70 through the first 18 contests. Montclair State did record its 17th shutout of the season and the 12th by Policastro, who leads the nation in goals against average.
