Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State men's soccer team is back with a full schedule of games as the Red Hawks' announced the details of their 2021 campaign this afternoon.
MSU kicks off the 2021-22 athletics season at the University with a noon matchup against Centenary University on Wednesday, September 1. The game is not only the first for Montclair State but perhaps in all of Division III. It will be the second time in six years MSU gets that distinction. Montclair blanked Manhattanville, 1-0 in the first D3 contest of the year in 2015.
Following the opener, Montclair closes out the first week of action in Chestertown, Maryland at the Athey Cup hosted by Washington College (MD) on September 4-5. The Red Hawks take on the host Shoremen on Saturday, their first meeting since 2001 with a contest against DeSales University on Sunday. Montclair last squared off against the Bulldogs in 1998.
The next three matches all come against New York City - Hunter College (September 8), New York University (September 11), and The City College of New York (September 13). The matchup with NYU will be the first since the second round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, won by MSU in penalty kicks (5-4) following a 1-1 draw.
A trip to Bethlehem, PA, and Moravian College on September 15 is the final non-conference play before the NJAC schedule commences. Montclair State meets Rutgers-Camden its initial league match on Saturday, September 18 in Camden, NJ. MSU defeated the Scarlet Raptors twice during their abbreviated COVID-19 schedule in the spring, including a 3-1 win in the NJAC Tournament semifinals at MSU Soccer Park.
Montclair State hosts Keystone College on Wednesday, September 22, and then plays back-to-back matches. Head coach Todd Tumelty's Red Hawks are on the road Saturday, September 25 at New Jersey City University. They return home the following evening for a first-time matchup against Alvernia University.
Conference contests comprise the next five matches beginning on September 29 at home versus Kean. Next is a road contest at The College of New Jersey on October 2. Homecoming will be just that for Montclair as it caps the day of celebration with a 7:00 pm meeting with Stockton University. It'll be a rematch of last April's NJAC Championship Match on October 13 when the Red Hawks head to Ramapo College before local rival William Paterson comes to MSU Soccer Park on Saturday, October 16.
The final non-conference match will be on Tuesday, October 19 in Troy, NY at Rensselaer. Montclair State closes out its schedule with its last two conference matches. The Red Hawks are in Glassboro, NJ on October 23 against Rowan University and meets Rutgers-Newark at home in the season finale on October 27.
The NJAC Men's Soccer Championship begins on Saturday, October 30 with first-round byes for the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The semifinals are set for Wednesday, November 3, and the championship is slated for Saturday, November 6. The winner earns the NJAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
