Worcester, MA – The Montclair State University Men's Soccer team posted a 4-0 victory over Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Red Hawks (1-1-0) started the game on the front foot, as TYLER DIAZ took a right footed curler that deflected out for a corner kick in the seventh minute. 90 seconds later, the visitors continued to press as KEVIN CONTRERAS sent a shot in that had to be collected by the Engineers. Montclair broke the scoring open in the 22nd minute, as Diaz chipped a ball from just past midfield over the top of the back line to TOMAS MONTEIRO. The striker took an immediate touch to flick the ball back to IVAN GARCIA, who rattled a left-footed shot past the keeper.
- Montclair doubled its advantage shortly after, as Diaz settled a ball for Garcia on the near edge of the box. The midfielder floated in a left-footed service that found Monteiro, who sent a header into the back of the net. WPI tried to cut into the gap over the next 10 minutes, collecting a trio of shots of their own, including one that had to be stopped by GEORGE KOSTIS JR. The freshman keeper came up with two more stops down the stretch of the stanza to keep the margin two at the break.
- In the 65th minute, a foul from the Engineers led to another offensive strike from the Red Hawks, as CARLOS BEDOYA curled in a free kick from the near side of the end line that was flicked past the keeper by KYLE MOORE to push the margin to three. Less than 10 minutes later, Montclair added their fourth of the day, with LOGAN NENO serving in a ball on a free kick to the far post that was headed in by THOMAS PUGLIESE.
- The Engineers looked for a quick counter, placing a shot on frame two minutes later that was parried away by Kostis. Montclair continued to play on the front foot as it collected three more shots over the final 10 minutes of the day. Kostis tallied his final save of the day in the final 66 seconds to preserve the clean sheet victory for the visitors, their first of the 2026 campaign.
INSIDE THE RESULTS
- Monteiro and Garcia each recorded a goal and an assist for the afternoon. The goal contributions marked the second and third of the campaign for Monteiro, who has scored 11 goals in 21 games for the Red Hawks for his career.
- Moore's goal was the fourth of his career, with Pugliese notching his second. The assist for Bedoya was his seventh in 17 career games, with Neno tallying his second and Diaz his first.
- Kostis made his collegiate debut in goal for the Red Hawks, recording five saves and the clean sheet.
- Montclair held a 16-11 advantage in shots, including a 10-5 mark with shots on goal.
- The four-goal victory marked Montclair's largest on the road since October 22, 2025 against Ramapo, and their largest road shutout since October 21, 2023 against Rutgers-Camden.
FROM THE FIELD
"It was nice to get back out there after a tough opening game. We had a good three days of practice to fix our mistakes and I was pleased with our result. We have to keep building as the season continues." - Head Coach Todd Tumelty
UP NEXT
The Red Hawks will return home to welcome Brooklyn College on Monday, September 7. Kickoff from MSU Soccer Park is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
