Women's Soccer | 10/26/2017 2:27:00 PM
Montclar, NJ – There will be plenty of postseason action at MSU Soccer Park this Saturday as the Montclair State kicks off a doubleheader day at 1:00 pm against Rutgers-Newark in the first round of the first round contests in the 2017 New Jersey Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship.
Tickets are $5.00 for general admission and $2.00 for children, seniors and students.
The opening game of the day between Montclair and Rutgers-Newark will be the second meeting between the teams in a week. Last Saturday, the Red Hawks went down to Alumni Field in Newark and came away with a 2-0 victory. Freshman
IMANI THOMPSON and sophomore
EMILY BEENDERS each scored in the victory.
Saturday's game will mark the second time in three years the Red Hawks and Scarlet Raiders battle in the NJAC Tournament. In 2015, Rutgers-Newark stunned defending champion Montclair with a 1-0 victory at MSU Soccer Park in the first round. Cristina Estremera scored on a free kick from 25 yards out with 23:41 remaining in the second half for the only goal of the contest.
Rutgers-Newark clinched its spot in the tournament with a 1-0 win at William Paterson on Wednesday evening, snapping a seven-game winless streak. Ine Collins' goal with 11:30 left in the contest was the difference. The Raiders finished tied with Rutgers-Camden for the final spot in the tournament but punched its ticket into the field by virtue of its 2-0 win over the Raptors earlier this season.
Juliana Ceballos leads the Raiders offensive attack with eight goals and eight assists (24 points) while Haley Savva has seven goals and 17 points on the year. Three other players have hit double-digits in scoring – Nicole Gomez (15 points / 5G, 5 A), Samantha Richter (14 points / 6G, 2A) and Sabrina Solorzano (12 points / 4G, 4 A). Diana Carvahlo has been solid in goal with 54 saves and a 1.37 goals against average. She has two shutouts.
Montclair State counters with a balanced attack of its own with five players posting double-digit scoring numbers. Beenders leads the group in goals (10) and assists while freshman
MELANIE CUNHA had scored eight goals including a hat trick in Wednesday's regular-season finale. Junior
MICHAELA KNOBLOCK had four points on the year (4 goals, 6 assists) with
CHRISTINE MAYORGA (5 goals, 3 assists) and
MADDY MCLELLAND (4 goals, 2 assists) recording 13 and 10 points, respectively. Goalkeepers
MOLLY BARROW and
PHOEBE BLEDSOE have combined for 77 saves, seven shutouts and a 1.26 goals against average.
MSU is making its 18
th appearance in the NJAC Tournament and has captured three title in 2004, 2012 and 2014. The Red Hawks are 8-11-10 overall. Last year Montclair reached the semifinals before bowing out against Rowan in penalty kicks.
The advancing teams move on to Tuesday's semifinal contest in Glassboro, NJ against No. 2 seed Rowan University (12-2-2). The Profs received one of the two first-round byes.
