Montclair, NJ – Senior forward Kaila Fasano (Westwood, NJ, Westwood) notched the lone goal in the 22nd minute as No. 12/14 Montclair State ran its unbeaten streak to 13 games as the Red Hawks slipped past Kean University 1-0 at MSU Soccer Park on Wednesday evening.

Senior goalkeeper Gina Policastro (East Brunswick, NJ, East Brunswick) made three saves in recording her 10th shutout of the season as Montclair improved to 12-1-1 overall, 5-0-1 in the NJAC.

Junior goalkeeper KC Nunez (Fair Lawn, NJ / Immaculate Heart Academy) stopped eight shots for the Cougars, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Kean fell to 9-5 overall, 3-4 in the league.

Montclair State outshot Kean 26-4 in the contest and had all 18 shots in the first half. Included in those shots were two early saves by Nunez and a bit of bad luck as Francesca Gibson's (Cape May, NJ, Lower Cape May Regional) shot at the 14:40 mark hit the upper right corner where the crossbar and post meet. Three minutes later, Melissa Koster (Yardville, NJ, Steinert) fired a shot that Nunez jumped up to snare in front of the goal keeping the game scoreless.

The Red Hawks would break through at 21:54 as Martina Landeka (Westfield, NJ, Westfield) moved in toward the right post before flipping a pass back to the left side. The ball glanced off a defender midway in the box over to Fasano who settled the ball and drove toward the left post before pushing a shot inside the far right post for her ninth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead for the Red Hawks.

MSU would get chances later in the half however Nunez came up with another save and a shot by Erin Sullivan (Bridgewater, NJ, Bridgewatwer-Raritan) clanged off the crossbar in the 31st minute.

Despite not getting a shot in the first 45 minutes, the Cougars got a solid opportunity with 6:15 to go as Gianna Sacchetti (Galloway, NJ / Absegami) sent in a deep cross from the left side that Policastro thwarted with a running interception.

In the second half, the Cougars got their first shot as Jordyn Bronsky (Mays Landing, NJ / Oakcrest) sent in a high-arching shot from the right side that was caught by Policastro. Later in the half, Deanna Columbia (Howell, NJ / Howell) sent in a shot from just outside the top of the box that Policastro scooped up.  

Montclair got another unlucky break as Gibson his the crossbar for a second time and Nunez was able to stop a shot by Koster.

In the closing minutes, Kean got perhaps its best chance to tie the contest as a deflected ball near midfield bounced back toward the MSU goal. Kean's Shelby Pedersen (Ewing, NJ / Notre Dame) got a step on her defender and was on a near breakaway in the box before Montclair's Jessica Bonjione (Bridgewater, NJ, Bridgewater-Raritan) kicked the ball away.

In addition to its shot total, the Red Hawks also held the edge in corner kicks, 6-1.

The Red Hawks are back in action on Saturday, October 18 heading to Camden, NJ to face Rutgers-Camden in an NJAC matchup at 1:00 pm.