Newark, NJ – The Montclair State men's soccer team proved on Tuesday evening it's not how many shots you take but what you do with them when you get them. The fifth-seeded Red Hawks scored on two of the three shots it took, upending No. 7 and top-seeded Rutgers-Newark 2-0 in the semifinals of the NJAC Tournament.

STEVEN ZAMUDIO and LUCAS TERCI each scored as Montclair now advances to its third consecutive championship game where it will face second-seeded Rowan University on Friday, November 4 in Glassboro, NJ at 7:00 pm. The winner receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.

Rowan won the regular-season matchup 4-3 at MSU Soccer Park on October 8.

The Red Hawks, who will be making their eighth appearance in the NJAC Championship Game, are seeking their second title in three years and 12^th conference crown. 

The Scarlet Raiders controlled field position and possession for most of the match, ending the action with an 18-3 margin in shots and a 2-1 edge in corners. However, MSU was able to score on two of its three shots to get the win in a game that saw four ejections, and nine total cards – all in the second half.
 
The first 15 minutes of action saw the Scarlet Raiders generate one shot on target and the Red Hawks create one corner, but the two teams went up-and-down with abandon, using the entire length and width of the pitch.
 
The game's first solid shot came from junior Chigozie Atubi  around 19 minutes left in the first half, taking a rip from just inside the top of the box that MSU goalkeeper MIKE SAALFRANK dove to stop.
 
Newark controlled possession and field position for a large chunk of the latter stages of the first half, with the best opportunity coming for senior Sebastian Gostynski with 11 minutes on the clock, but the attempt clanged off the far post and the match remained scoreless all the way to the break.
 
Montclair State took the lead just 2:50 into the second half and it came on the Red Hawks' first shot of the match. On the play senior Zamudio received a pass in the box from senior MICHAEL CZYRNEK and Zamudio was able to record his fourth tally of the season.
 
At 62:10, Czyrnek would receive his second yellow of the match, giving Rutgers-Newark a man advantage, but the Red Hawks were able to tack on an insurance marker from Terci, who took a pass from Zamudio at the top of the box and tucked his shot just inside the lower-left corner for his 28th score of the year. The goal gave Terci his 60^th point of the year, breaking the MSU single-season mark set by John Ioannu (58 points) in 1983.
 
An R-N red at 67:56 made it 10v10, but the score remained the same (2-0) the rest of the way despite Newark outshooting the Red Hawks, 7-1 down the stretch.
Saalfrank made nine saves for the Red Hawks.