Montclair, NJ – Senior forward
Kaila Fasano (Westwood, NJ, Westwood) scored a pair of goals as No. 10 Montclair State inched closer toward a first-round bye for the NJAC Tournament with a 4-0 victory over Ramapo College on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior
Martina Landeka (Westfield, NJ, Westfield) and sophomore
Jennie Hornstra (Clifton, NJ, Clifton) each scored for the Red Hawks (14-1-1), who stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 games (13-0-1). Montclair also improved to 7-0-1 in the conference, remaining four points ahead of TCNJ and Richard Stockton and six points in front of Rowan University for the top spot in the standings pending the outcome of their games on Saturday.
MSU, which will play a non-conference game against Swarthmore on Saturday, October 20, would need a win or a tie versus Rutgers-Newark in their final NJAC contest on Wednesday, October 29. That game will take place at MSU Soccer Park beginning at 7:00. A win would give Montclair the regular-season title for the third consecutive year while a tie would give the Red Hawks at least a first-round bye when the tournament begins on Saturday, November 1.
Fasano became the fifth player in MSU history to surpass 90 points in a career as she recorded her third multiple-goal game this season. The senior now has 91 career points and 36 career goals which is also fifth-best all-time.
Fasano put the Red Hawks on the board at the 15:23 mark of the first half with her 11
th of the year finishing off a pass from
Melissa Koster (Yardville, NJ, Steinert) for the 1-0 lead. MSU would maintain that lead until the final minute of the half when Landeka scored off an assist from
Kimberly Mignone (Chestnut Ridge, NY, Paramus Catholic) with 19 seconds remaining giving the Red Hawks a 2-0 advantage.
Fasano pushed the lead to three goals 2:51 into the second half.
Shawna Grabowski (Woodbridge, NJ, Woodbridge) collected a missed clear by the Roadrunners and found Fasano, who buried the pass into the back of the net for her second of the game. Hornstra scored less than three minutes later netting her seventh goal as Montclair State led 4-0 with 39:31 left.
Senior goalkeeper
Gina Policastro (East Brunswick, NJ, East Brunswick) stopped five shots to collect her 41
st career shutout, four behind the all-time mark of 55 held by Stephanie Romanko (1999-2002).
Kickoff for the MSU-Swarthmore game on Saturday is scheduled for 2:00 pm.