Montclair, NJ – Freshman Mike Olla (Bloomfield, NJ, St. Benedict's Prep) snapped a second half tie while junior Brian Cullen (Clementon, NJ, Highland Regional) netted the second of his two goals late as Montclair State squandered a three-goal lead before bouncing back in a 5-3 win over Cortland at MSU Soccer Park on Friday evening.
Sophomore Trey Leggett (Stockton, NJ, Hunterdon Central) had a goal and assist for the Red Hawks (4-0), who got the final momentum swing in the first meeting between the two teams.
Sophomore Alex Wilson (Cicero, NY / Cicero-North Syracuse), Darren McCormack (Dublin, Ireland / Fingal Community) and Matt Williams (Cobleskill, NY / Cobleskill-Richmondville) each had a goal for the Red Dragons, who fell to 1-3.
Montclair State controlled the early portion of the game and grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 9:22 mark on Leggett's first tally of the year. Sophomore Lucas Terci (Union, NJ, Union) served a ball from the left side on a free kick into the middle of the box where Leggett headed it into the right side for the first score of the game.
The Red Hawks nearly made it a two-goal game 30 seconds later however Cullen's shot hit the post. Cullen got a second chance and this time capitalized on the opportunity knocking in a ball off a scramble into a wide open net giving MSU a 2-0 advantage at 16:16 of the first half.
Sophomore Brendan Guzman (Clifton, NJ, Clifton) kept the scoring going for Montclair five minutes later blasting a feed from Terci int the left side of the goal as Montclair held a 3-0 lead with 23:12 left in the opening period.
Cortland immediately responded as Robby Reiser (Melville, NY / Half Hallow Hills East) set up Wilson at the top of the box with the latter finding the back of the net cutting the deficit to 3-1. It was the first goal of the season allowed by MSU snapping a string of 292:13 minutes.
The goal began to even the game out and Montclair held a 3-1 lead at the break before the Red Dragons seized back the momentum in the second half tying the game at 3-3.
McCormack made it a one-goal contest converting a penalty kick at 64:46 after a Red Dragon player was taken down in the box. Less than two minutes later, Montclair failed to clear the ball from its end and Cortland made it pay as Williams chipped in a shot from the top right side of the penalty are knotting the score with 23:14 left.
Red Dragon goalkeeper Tim Beauvais (Hilton, NY / Hilton) snared a header by Dan Mendoza (Hackensack, NJ, Hackensack) to keep the game tied however Olla would put MSU back in front with shot from the top and just got past a diving Beauvais putting MSU back in front 4-3.
Cullen added the final goal with 7:16 to go on his second of the game. Mendoza made a long cross from the endline back through to the left side to Cullen who then chipped the pass into the lower left side for what turned out to be the final margin.
Montclair goalkeeper Frank Buchel (Voorhees, NJ, Eastern Regional) made three saves while Beauvais had 10, including several key stops that kept Cortland in the game.
The Red Hawks held a 24-12 advantage in shots and out-cornered the Red Dragons, 8-2.
Montclair State returns to action on Sunday, September 8 as it hosts Manhattanville College at MSU Soccer Park beginning at 7:00 pm. Following its long trek to New Jersey, Cortland will take a shorter trip for its next contest. The Red Dragons head to nearby Ithaca for a 4:00 pm matchup with the Bombers.
