Montclair, NJ – The #19 Montclair State University men's soccer team rallied with three unanswered second half goals to defeat Ramapo, 3-1, at MSU Soccer Park on Wednesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (12-3-1, 6-1-0 NJAC) opened the contest with a shot from ALFREDO ROJAS in the third minute, but were tested defensively ten minutes later, as ALEXANDER VELASQUEZ came up with his first save of the contest. Ramapo continued to push later in the frame, hitting the woodwork twice within a four minute span, with Velasquez tallying another stop in between those attempts.
• Montclair began to flip the game offensively in the final 10 minutes of the stanza, as SEBASTIAN LAPCZYNSKI sent a shot towards the top of the net that had to be saved by the Roadrunners. The Red Hawks tallied the final five shots of the half, but the two sides went into the break scoreless. 
• Ramapo broke through with a goal in the 51st minute, but Montclair answered within 19 seconds, as ANDRE SHELTON surged forward off the restart and collected a pass from JAKE WINCHOCK. After Shelton's initial shot attempt was saved, he collected the resulting loose ball and headed it towards OSBIN MENDEZ, who flicked the ball into the back of the net.
• Velasquez tallied three more saves over the next 12 minutes, and Ramapo came close to retaking the advantage as they hit the woodwork again in the 68th minute. Nine minutes later, OWEN MURPHY collected a pass along the far side of the field, made a run, and played a ball towards the top of the box that found SAMUEL EPITIME, who moved towards goal and sent a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper.
• The home side added a third in the waning minutes of the contest, as Mendez crossed midfield and sent a pass forward to LOGAN NENO. The midfielder took the ball towards the near edge of the box, cut back to shed a defender, and ripped a right-footed shot to seal the victory.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Montclair outshot Ramapo 24-16 in the contest, with both sides tallying seven shots on goal.
• The goal for Mendez was his fifth of the season, ranking second on the team. He now has 18 points on the campaign, and has recorded a goal contribution in 10 of Montclair's 16 games this season. Shelton tallied his second assist of the year and his second goal contribution over his last three contests.
• Epitime increased his team-leading goal total to eight, with Murphy notching his second assist of the season and 15th of his collegiate career. Neno's goal was the third of his first collegiate campaign.
• Velasquez tied his career-high of six saves, which he set on October 9 against Alvernia. 

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to face Stockton on Saturday, October 26, with kickoff from Galloway, NJ scheduled for 6:00 PM.