By Nick Kurti
Staff Writer
In August, the men’s soccer team was named a Dark Horse in the preseason. Now, they have five players selected for All-New Jersey Athletic Conference, their first playoff win since 2016, a major upset against the top seed in the conference and their first NJAC championship appearance in fifteen years.
Sean Najdzinowicz is the first freshman at the College to be an NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year. With four shutouts and a save percentage of .838, the Tinton Falls native is first in saves in the conference and second in average goals against (.800). Junior Chris Meder was selected to the First Team after he topped the NJAC in assists (11), placed third in goals (13) and second in points (37). Matt Will, as a freshman, earned Second Team honors after he came ninth in points (21) in his first season as a Lion. On the other end of the field, sophomore Lawrence Mancino and freshman Matt Maceri earned Second Team and Honorable Mention, respectively, to begin a hopeful playoff run.
On Nov. 1, the fourth-seeded Lions hosted fifth-seeded Rutgers-Camden in the NJAC quarterfinals. Tensions were high for the Lions to play well, and they capitalized on it quickly. Just 16 seconds into the match, junior Matias Hornos ripped a shot from 25 yards out and sent it into the top right to take a very early 1-0 lead. In the 20th minute, freshman Aidan Grund took a corner, headed up by freshman Manny Thatcher and finished off by Will to go into the break 2-0.
The Scarlet Raptors got a goal in the 55th minute, but with just under four minutes passing, senior Massimo Rodio would drive a long shot to Will, who didn’t get a touch on the ball, but helped fake out the Raptors keeper and bring the score up 3-1. Substitutes freshman Aidan Ayar and junior Nathan Lipton each nabbed a goal in the final 25 minutes of play to comfortably win 5-1 and head into the semifinals. Rutgers Camden led in shots 31-12 and corners 9-2 but were unable to capitalize on it with Najdzinowicz’s seven save performance.
On Nov. 5, standing in the Lions’ path was No. 20 Montclair State, a team the College had lost to 2-1 earlier in the regular season. In the 13th minute, Mancino crossed a pass to Meder on the right wing, who struck a sharp shot into the bottom left side to get the lone goal of the first half. Coming into the second half, the Lions were ready to hold the lead.
In the 56th minute, senior J.J. Zaun would steal a Redhawks goal kick, allowing Hornos to break away and pass it to Meder in front of the keeper. The Montclair goalie deflected it, but it bounced off the inner goalpost and into the net for a controversial 2-0 lead. Meder would secure the hat trick ten minutes later off of the same situation as before, only now it was Ayar with the assist. The first seed in the NJAC were able to finally get a glimmer of hope with a goal in the 72nd minute, but Meder would score just one minute later to undo it. The Red Hawks outshot the Lions 27-14, but the Goalkeeper of the Year was proving his title with six saves on the night. This marked the College’s first time with an 11-win season since 2013, and the first NJAC championship since 2010.
The Lions traveled to Glassboro on Nov. 8 to face third-seeded Rowan, where the Profs had pulled off their own 1-0 upset against Stockton. Rowan let off nine shots in the first half hour as opposed to the Lion’s three before Evan Schlotterbeck put the lone goal of the game up in the 31st minute. The Profs' Travis Holiday was a formidable opponent for Najdzinowicz, with Rowan getting four saves and the College nabbing six. The Lions were ultimately unable to come back despite turning up the pressure in the final quarter of play, losing out on being NJAC champions after 20 years.
As NJAC champions, Rowan are the sole team from the conference to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but it’s not to understate the performance the College’s men’s soccer team has put on. With a fresh set of coaching staff and young talent already proving themselves on the field as All-NJAC stars, Coach Steve DeMatteo has outpaced the expectations of any preseason predictions.
