By Nick Kurti
Staff Writer
The College’s men’s soccer team exceeded all expectations with their 5-0-3 non-conference start, capped off by a 3-0 performance against Keystone on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Now they’re ready to prove themselves in conference play.
From the first touch on Wednesday, the Giants (2-6) were somewhat physical, but lacked the ability to keep possession out of their end of the field. In the first half alone, the Lions littered Keystone goalie Kolten McVean with 10 shots as opposed to their two. Senior midfielder J.J. Zaun had an excellent shot driven low and centered, which counted as McVean’s lone save.
Set pieces were a usual favorite of the Lions; they had seven corners this half, and all three goals came from a set piece. Freshman Tyler Borenstein took a free kick at the 33rd minute, which floated its way straight to sophomore Lawrence Mancino for a header into the goal. It came right past the goalie’s left shoulder, where McVean was just too slow to keep it out.
Coming back from the break, the second half saw another 12 corners and 16 shots from the Lions. Meanwhile, the Giants never got a corner once and kicked just three shots across the entire 90 minutes. The only statistic of note they racked up was two yellow cards in his half.
The set piece magic continued to grow in the second half. Freshman Aiden Grund lined it up at the 53rd-minute mark, and yet again, a header would send it flying past McVean’s eyes. This time it would be junior Lucas Sample putting it in the bottom right corner to put the Lions up 2-0.
Just five minutes later, sophomore Omar Pollard would give a throw-in to Borenstein. He passed it from deep in the right corner to senior John Ramos, who was at center field 20 yards out from the goal. The Biology major took the chance and shot from there, sending it past the keeper to wrap up scoring 3-0. This ended up becoming the College’s fifth shutout on the season, ending the non-conference play with five wins and three ties.
After the game, Coach Steve DeMatteo knew that non-conference play was just the beginning. “We feel good, but there's still so much more. Conference games are competitive, and they're tough.”
Kean (1-7-2) came to fight for a win on the College’s Alumni Day, honoring squads from 1995 and 2005. The Lions knew this was the match that would truly show their strengths. This match was much more physical, with nine yellow cards and three red cards. In the last three minutes, the Cougars were fielding eight men versus a full Lions 11.
The Lions and Cougars were contested in the first half, despite the College leading in corners 6-0. There were ultimately too many shots from the Lions barely missing the goal, or Kean defenders failing to clear the ball and causing additional corners.
In the 14th minute, Kean sophomore Ilyas Jaber gave a side pass to Jaime Madrid, who slammed it past Lions keeper Sean Najdzinowicz to take a 1-0 lead. A corner kick came in the 27th minute, where Mancino headed it into the bar, but the referee said it was no goal. The ball bounced out right in front of the goal, but cheers from the crowd erupted when they mistook Cougars keeper Jaxson Mast slapping the net for a goal. After that very close chance, the half wrapped up with Kean leading by one.
The Cougars fought aggressively to try and keep their lead alive, but the Lions weren’t done. They outshot this half 7-1 and led in corners 8-1. After Ahad Shabazz-Henry and Marvin Munoz Garcia were sent off, the College took a corner at the 80th minute. It was deflected out to midfield, where Zaun and junior Matias Hornos worked it back into the penalty box. Junior Nathan Lipton’s first shot was saved, but the second shot that bounced off the goalie went in. The Lions bench emptied as they crowded around the referee, who confirmed to an ecstatic team that it was not offside. That tie is what saved the Lions’ unbeaten streak.
In the last game of the week, the College traveled down to G. Larry James Stadium to face Stockton. The Lions and the Ospreys (5-2-3) held the game to a scoreless tie in the first half. Dodd made the lone save in the 4th minute, with a shot from Joseph Carbone curving straight to the Lions freshman. Stockton outshot the College 5-2.
Much of the second half was also much of the same contested play. The Ospreys took a corner in the 70th minute, where Chris Kall took a shot that bounced off the right post and nearly went in, but Dodd recovered it to save a potential rebound for going in. Just five minutes later, Stockton senior Uche Wokocha took a free kick which went into the left post and into the net. With only fifteen minutes to go in the game, the Ospreys were up 1-0.
In the 78th minute, Derek Tindall drove a pass into the center, where the Lions defense attempted to clear the ball, but to no avail. Worse, it went straight to the boot of Wokocha once more, who drove in the second goal into the same left side. Aiden Hoenisch sealed the game with a far-out shot outside the penalty box, driven into the left side once more to end the game 3-0.
This is where the game would end, with the Lions being handed their first loss, starting NJAC play 0-1-1, and ending the nine-game unbeaten streak for the Lions. Nonetheless, the start is still a massive step for the men’s soccer program, solidifying Coach DeMatteo’s progress for the College.
Men’s soccer returns to Lions Stadium, where they will face Montclair State on Saturday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.
