Montclair, NJ – Junior forward MIKE OLLA netted a hat trick leading No. 3 ranked and top-seeded Montclair State to a 5-1 win over fourth-seeded Rowan University in the semifinals of the NJAC Tournament at MSU Soccer Park on Wednesday evening.

Freshman goalkeeper MIKE SAALFRANK made six saves and recorded two assists as the Red Hawks (18-2) advanced to the championship game for the second consecutive season. MSU will host third-seeded Rutgers-Camden in the title game on Saturday, November 7 at 6:00 pm. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.

Shane Doherty had the lone goal for Rowan (16-5), which had a xx-game winning streak snapped with the loss. The Profs, ranked second in the NCAA South Atlantic Region, must now wait to see if it receives an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Selections will be announced on Monday, November 9.

Rowan grabbed a 1-0 lead 4:57 into the game as Doherty collected his 10^th goal of the year. Off an attempted clear by MSU from inside the box, the Profs sent the ball back down inside the 6 where Doherty flipped a shot that went off the right post. He got the rebound and fired another shot that was blocked by Saalfrank on quick reaction. The carom came right back to Doherty, who made the third shot the charm banging the ball into the left side.

The Profs nearly made it a two-goal lead at the 30^th minute as a deflected ball came on to the foot of Derick Carpio, who went in 1-on-1 against Saalfrank on the right side. Carpio got the shot past Saalfrank however the ball trickled just wide of the left post.

Montclair State tied the game four minutes later with the first of Olla's three goals. DAMIAN BZIUKIEWICZ, the NJAC Midfielder of the Year, slipped a pass down the right side to Olla, who moved in toward the goal before firing a shot that hit off the hands of keeper Kyle Dennis before rolling in for a 1-1 tie with 11:08 to go before halftime.

Dennis made two more saves for Rowan however he was unable to stop the final shot by MSU in the half. AARON ROSE drove in along the left end line before sliding a ball across that eluded Dennis and found MATT HENDRICKSON for the go-ahead goal with :19 left. It was Hendrickson's 10^th goal of the season as Montclair led 2-1 at the break.
MSU needed less than a minute to widen the lead to 3-1 in the second half. Off a Rowan foul, Saalfrank bombed at ball from the top of his own penalty area to the opposite end. Olla managed to wedge between two defenders, picking up the long pass and flipping it past Dennis with 44:02 to go.

The Profs then came up with three big saves as MSU's JOHN STARNER back-tapped a shot that was kicked away near the goal line in the 48^th minute and Dennis made a stop against Bziukiewicz two minutes later. Backup keeper Grant Kelly then came up with a 1-on-1 stop against Olla in the 55 minute.

Olla would record the hat trick with seven minutes left off another long play. The Profs sent a ball back in that Saalfrank booted from penalty to penalty are again. The ball looked as though it would be scooped up by goalkeeper Kelly on the top right side of the box however a streaking Olla gave over and redirected the ball at the last second and it rolled inside the left post for the goal, Olla's 13^th of the season.

Rose finished off the scoring for Montclair 1:24 later picking up a failed clear by Rowan and ripping a shot from just outside the box. It was his sixth tally of the year.
Saalfrank finished with six saves for Montclair State, which played the final 15 minutes short-handed. Dennis made five saves for Rowan with Kelly stopping two shots. The Red Hawks owned a 21-18 advantage in shots with Rowan taking five of the eight corner kicks in the game.

The win now sets up another Montclair State-Rutgers-Camden showdown between teams that have won eight of the last nine conference titles.  Saturday's contest will mark the second straight NJAC Championship Game matchup and the fourth time overall.  MSU won the first meeting 1-0 in 2008 with the Scarlet Raptors returning the favor in the 2011 championship contest. Last year, MSU ended Rutgers-Camden's three-year reign as NJAC champions with a 3-1 victory at MSU Soccer Park.

Earlier this season, Montclair State edged Rutgers-Camden 2-1 on October 17 in Camden, NJ as MIKE TARANTO scored the game winner in overtime.