The Ramapo men’s soccer team is now officially ranked No. 7 overall in Region IV, according to United Soccer Coaches. After a win against New Jersey City University (NJCU) and a draw against Stockton University, their season record moves to 8-2-4 and to 3-1-2 in their conference.
In their game against NJCU, there were notable performances from Gianfranco Ponce and Elton Mani, who put up all three goals for Ramapo. Ponce, who recently received his third New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week award, delivered the first two goals and one assist during his 62 minutes of gameplay.
Ramapo scored their first goal of the 3-0 within the first minute of gameplay, when Ponce scored with an assist from freshman Jalal Khalifeh. No more goals were scored in the first half despite the strong start, but Ramapo would come back later to secure the win.
In the second half, Ponce scored his second goal of the game and his ninth of the season with an assist from freshman Ari Rosu. Later on in the 67th minute, Mani recorded his second goal of the season with an assist from Ponce.
Despite NJCU outshooting the Roadrunners 9-5, Ramapo goalie Nikolai Matthews recorded all nine saves throughout the entire game and reached a career high with his outstanding performance.
NJCU was unable to match Ramapo’s offensive energy while consistently facing fouls to deter their momentum. While facing multiple offsides calls from officials, two NJCU players also received yellow cards within the latter of the second half. Nonetheless, Ramapo secured the 3-0 shutout.
On Oct. 19, Ramapo faced off against Stockton and found themselves in a 0-0 draw. The teams fought each other off, nearly matching each other in terms of their shots and corner kicks made throughout the game. Three yellow cards were also given during the heated game, two of which were handed to Ramapo players.
Matthews recorded seven saves throughout the game against Stockton, with the most exciting one coming late into the second half. With seven minutes to play in the game, Stockton midfielder Uche Wokocha shot the ball straight into the upper left hand corner of the goal. Matthews came in clutch with a diving save to prevent the game-winning goal, with it being just his fifth shot of the game.
Despite Stockton performing well defensively, senior Jake Szatkowski contributed a team-leading two shots on goal for Ramapo. Ramapo finished the game with a total of 17 shots against Stockton and six corner kicks, while Stockton contributed 16 shots against Ramapo but seven corner kicks.
Men’s soccer will play again against Rowan University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26.
bkeatin1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @rcnjmenssoccer, Instagram
