Montclair, N.J. – The Montclair State men's soccer team opens defense of its New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Wednesday evening at MSU Soccer Park.
Tickets for the game are $5 for general admission and $2 for students, children, and seniors. Due to NJAC regulations, all tickets must be purchased.
Kickoff between the second-seeded Red Hawks (14-4-1) and sixth-seeded Stockton University (10-5-4) is scheduled for 7 p.m. The winner will face either top-seeded Ramapo College (11-1-5) or fourth-seeded Rowan University in the NJAC Championship on Saturday, November 9 at the site of the highest remaining seed.
The winner of the NJAC Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, which begins next weekend.
The Ospreys advanced to the semifinals after eliminating third-seeded Rutgers University-Camden in the first round. The two sides battled for 110 scoreless minutes before heading to penalty kicks. Stockton outlasted the Scarlet Raptors 5-4 in penalties to advance to Wednesday's semifinal matchup.
Montclair holds a 25-17-7 record over Stockton all-time and have met four times previously in the postseason. The Red Hawks are 3-1-0 in those matchups, with the last one coming on October 30, 2010. Stockton last knocked off Montclair on October 23, 2010, and haven't won at Montclair since October 12, 2005.
In the previous meeting between the two sides this year, Montclair prevailed 2-0 back on October 19. In a physical contest that featured 24 fouls and four red-cards, freshman forward
OSCAR SANCHEZ and sophomore midfielder
BROGAN QUIGLEY each scored to give Montclair the victory.
Sanchez leads the Red Hawks with 12 goals and 25 points, while freshman midfielder
JUSTIN GOLDBERG and senior forwards
JOSE HUERTA, and
NIXON SOGLO all added 12. Junior goalkeeper Michael Meija made 14 starts, posting a 9-4-1 record while rookie keeper
DEAN DEPINTO was 4-0-0 in four starts.
Ervin Gjeli and John Maxted led the Ospreys with six goals each, with Dino Gromitsaris making 45 saves over 18 games en route to a 9-5-4 record. Gjeli was tops on the Ospreys with four assists, as Maxted tallied a team-best three game-winning goals.
Montclair State led the NJAC with 55 goals scored, while Stockton was tied for sixth with 37. The two foes are among the stingiest defenses in the league, as Stockton allowed just 14 goals over 19 games while Montclair was right behind them with 15. The Red Hawks and Ospreys also faced the fewest shots on goal during the season, with Montclair making 54 saves and Stockton 56.
This will be the Red Hawks 18th appearance in the NJAC Tournament with Montclair posting a 20-7-2 mark during that time. MSU has won seven championships in the tournament era, including four straight from 2006-2009 in addition to two of the last three (2016, 2018).
