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EWING – It was a brisk evening for the fans of The College of New Jersey’s men’s soccer to watch their team compete against arguably one of the best New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents, Montclair State University. The night, however, seemed brisker for the Lions as they experienced another hard-fought loss to one of their conference rivals.
Despite the 3-0 loss to the Red Hawks, the Lions battled it out with the conference opponent until the final whistle.
“I think we had a solid performance,” said head coach George Nazario.
The matchup seemed to follow a similar path of previous high-intensity meetings, as both teams found themselves battling for each yard and making one another earn every inch on the field.
Nazario also discussed how the largest difference in the matchup was some of the missed opportunities for the Lions, which ultimately held them back in the game.
Despite heading into halftime trailing 2-0, the Lions were only out shot only 6-4 by the Red Hawks (9-7 for the entire game). Especially when playing talented opponents, capitalizing on scoring opportunities is crucial in winning games.
“Scoring goals is what you need to do,” said Nazario.
The Red Hawks came out hot just like any one of their previous matches, as they tested the Lions with their fast-paced play. Nazario praised the Red Hawks for their talent and performance on the field, as well as the Lions gutsy performance.
“Montclair probably has the best combination of players,” said Nazario. “They’re 12-1 for a reason.”
Seven minutes into play, the Red Hawks knocked in their first goal of the night quickly following the Lions’ first chance of the night. The quick turn of momentum of the full-field play ultimately left the Lions defense uncharacteristically spread out to ensure the successful attack for the Red Hawks from midfielder Damian Bziukiewicz, which would be his first of two goals of the match.
From then on, it continued to be a back-and-forth battle for possession featuring some close scoring opportunities for the Lions from forward Thomas Hogue, midfielder Peter Dresch, and midfielder Clayton Flon, until the Red Hawks capitalized off a strong free throw to put defender Brendan Guzman in position to score with 11:42 left to play in the half.
“We need to improve on putting together a full game,” said midfielder Matt Taylor. “We have been playing well at times during the past couple of games, but are unable to be consistent for the full 90 minutes.”
It was essentially a chess match on the field, as the match included a variety of multiple substitutions (27 total) on both sides to keep fresh legs on the field and competitive matchups between players.
From the first whistle of the second half, the Lions, despite trailing, never let up in their pursuit of to propel a late comeback. Their arguably best chance of the second half came from midfielder Matthew Ziegler, though the shot sailed over the crossbar.
The game continued its back-and-forth and competitive nature from both sides, as neither team seemed to play with the notion that they were ahead nor trailing.
Despite its three-game slide, and current 0-4 conference record, the men’s soccer team, at 6-4-2, continues to stay positive and optimistic in finishing off the season strong and reaching the NJAC tournament.
“This team can go as far as we are willing to take it,” Nazario said. “We have a world of talent and potentials to be one of the top teams in the NJAC and other teams have recognized that.”
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