By Ann Brunn
Staff Writer
The men’s soccer team improved to 7-1 on the season with a win over Drew University on Sept. 18 at Lions’ Stadium.
The Lions scored first in the 19th minute when junior midfielder Sam Monaco sent a header to junior defenseman Matthew Nastarowicz, who punched it in to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The goal was Nastarowicz’s second of the season.
The College capitalized on the Drew goalkeeper being out of position, as freshman forward Justin Dominique connected on a pass to junior midfielder Kevin Esteves, who netted the ball to stretch the Lions lead to 2-0. Esteves’ score in the 29th minute marked the third straight game he’s found the back of the net.
The Lions held control of the tempo for the first half, outshooting Drew 8-3.
In the 68th minute, Drew made the match interesting by scoring and cutting the Lions’ lead in half, but this was as close as it would get.
Monaco fended off a last-second pass from the Drew goalkeeper by heading the ball out of play, thus sealing the win for the Lions.
Junior goalkeeper Daniel Mecadon made a pair of key saves in the net for the Lions, earning the victory.
The Lions opened New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 21, with a 2-1 loss to Rutgers University-Newark. The loss set the overall record for the Lions to 7-2, and 0-1 in conference play.
Rutgers-Newark scored first in the 41st minute, but the Lions tied the game quickly in the second half when senior midfielder Michael Maltese connected on a penalty kick, marking his second goal of the year.
Junior midfielder Kevin Esteves had a shot on goal in the 57th minute, but it was deflected by the Rutgers-Newark goalkeeper.
Rutgers-Newark regained the lead in the 60th minute and would hold it for the rest of the match. The Lions had three opportunities to score with shots by Dominique, Monaco and sophomore Ryan Santos, but the Rutgers-Newark goalkeeper saved them all.
The men return home tonight at 6:30 p.m., where they will face non-conference opponent, Stevens Institute of Technology. On Saturday, Sept. 28, they will resume NJAC play at Ramapo College.
