Men's Soccer | 11/1/2017 8:35:00 AM

Montclair, NJ – It's déjà vu for the Montclair State men's soccer team as it heads to Alumni Field in Newark for Wednesday's semifinal action in the 2017 NJAC Men's Soccer Championship against Rutgers-Newark.

The third-seeded Red Hawks (13-6-1) and 14^th-ranked and No. 2 seed Scarlet Raiders (18-2) square off in the same round for the second straight season with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship game against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 6 Rowan University and Stockton.

Not only is it the second straight year the two will meet in the semifinals, it will be the second time in 11 days the two matchup. The Scarlet Raiders won the most recent meeting back on October 21, 2-0 at MSU Soccer Park. Fabio De Sousa had a hand in both goals scoring in the second half and then assisting on the last goal with 59 seconds remaining. That came after Montclair appeared to have tied the match 30 seconds earlier.

Last year, then No. 4 seed Montclair shocked the top-seeded Scarlet Raiders, 2-0 in Newark on its way to capturing the NJAC championship. It will be the fourth time MSU and Rutgers-Newark tangle in the conference tournament. MSU posted a 4-1 victory in the 2009 semifinals with the Scarlet Raiders returning the favor by the identical score in 2012.

While the Scarlet Raiders had a first-round bye, Montclair needed a comeback and overtime to advance to Wednesday's game. The Red Hawks fell behind No. 6 seed William Paterson 2-0 but rallied for a 3-2 victory. MIKE TARANTO scored the game-winner in the extra period after MSU knotted the match late in the second half. JOE BIANCO and CHAZ BURNETT each scored in the final 17:47 of regulation to force the OT.

Rutgers-Newark, which is undefeated at home this season (10-0) has won three straight since falling at Rowan in overtime and are a plus-46 in goal differential. De Sousa had been one of the top scorers in the NJAC this season with 40 points on 17 goals and six assists. Chigozie Atubi has recorded eight goals with Hubert Dul and Stefano Muniz each netting six. The Raiders have five players with 10 or more points. Meanwhile the Rutgers-Newark defense has allowed just nine goals on the year. Andres Medina has been spectacular with a 0.47 goals against average, 88.0 save percentage and 10 shutouts.

Montclair State answers with a solid offensive attack that averaged 3.16 goals per game and features three players with 20 more points with two more in double digits. Taranto heads that list with 12 goals and 27 points withBurnett matching that 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists. Junior RAFAEL TERCI is next at 24 points (10 goals, four assists). Junior KEVIN SIMEK and Freshman DEVAUGHN FOSTER round out the scoring with 14 and 11 points respectively. Junior MIKE SAALFRANK has recorded six shutout this season and has a 1.32 goals against average along with 76 saves.

MSU is making its 15^th appearance in the NJAC Championship posting a 18-6-2 record since the inception of the tournament in 1999. Included in that record is a run of 10 victories in a row from 2006-2009 when the Red Hawks claimed five consecutive crowns. Montclair State added another in 2014 before its Cinderella-like run last year when it won the tournament as the No. 5 seed winning three road games, including victories at top-seeded Rutgers-Newark in the semifinals and a 3-0 win at No. 2 seed Rowan in the title game.