Montclair, NJ – Freshman midfielder Leo Montesinos scored 4:56 into the second half for the game's lone goal as fourth-seeded Rowan University upset top-seeded and No. 11/12 Montclair State, 1-0 in the semifinals of the NJAC Men Soccer Championship at MSU Soccer Park on Wednesday evening.

Senior goalkeeper James Weinberg stopped nine shots for the Profs (12-3-1), who advance to the championship game on Saturday, November 6 at No. 2 seed Rutgers-Newark or third-seeded Kean University.

Senior goalkeeper SHANE KEENAN had four saves for the Red Hawks (16-3-1), who dropped their second straight following a 12-match winning streak. The Red Hawks will now wait to see if they are among the at-large teams selected for the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship. Selections for the national tournament will be made on a live show broadcast Monday, November 8 on NCAA.com.

Montclair State, which knocked off Rowan 2-0 back on October 23 in the regular season, got the early opportunities. JOSIAH CRAWFORD got the first in the sixth minute. AMER LUKOVIC followed four minutes later with Crawford going again at the 19-minute mark, however, Weinberg kept those out of the net.

The Profs would get two chances of their own in the final seven minutes. Wilby Alfred fired a shot scooped up by Keenan in the 37th minute and the Montclair keeper denied Junior Miranda with 5:44 left as the game headed to halftime scoreless.

Weinberg would add another save to his total, stopping Lukovic two minutes into the second half. Rowan would get the ball down the other end and play it into the box where it bounced off a few players before Montesinos corralled it. He side-stepped a defender and sent a low-rolling shot inside the left post for his second of the season and, more importantly, the one-goal advantage with 41:37 left.

From that point, the Profs played solid defense with Weinberg coming up with two saves over the next 20 minutes. Rowan had a chance to add to its lead at 67:03, but a Miranda shot was smothered by Keenan.

Trailing by one, Montclair stepped up the offensive pressure however, it still could not get one past Weinberg, who denied JANBI KAGHADO with 9:36 to go.  The Red Hawks' best opportunity to get the equalizer came inside the final three minutes. RYAN CATALANO sent a shot on frame that Weinberg was able to grab and the keeper got some help 20 seconds later as JACOB BARTNIK ripped an attempt that clanged off the crossbar and stayed out of the net. Lukovic tried to bicycle kick a follow-up. But that went wide.

MSU outshot Rowan, 17-13 with the Profs taking six of the nine corner kicks.

Wednesday's meeting was the 10th between the Profs and Red Hawks with Rowan snapping a four-match losing streak in the NJAC Tournament to MSU.