Courtesy of Ramapo College of New Jersey
Ramapo College men’s soccer team continued their dominating streak of victories after a recent 2-1 overtime win over TCNJ. Ramapo has been on fire this whole season as they continue their eight-game winning streak, and their electrifying start is proving to be one of their best under Head Coach DJ Pinton.
The Roadrunners currently stand at an impressive 8-0 overall and are 2-0 in conference play. The TCNJ Lions have met similar success this season, but after the loss they fell to a 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the NJAC.
The Roadrunners walked into the TCNJ Soccer Complex with a chip on their shoulders coming off another tight 2-1 win over The College of Old Westbury. But for division rivals TCNJ and their loyal fans, the mission was clear that this game was going to be a tough one – and it proved to be so for both teams.
Ramapo would get on the board early into the game off the legs of junior Joseph Fala. Fala, who’s been having a sensational season, recorded his 11th goal of the year off an assist from senior Jorge Castro. Castro demonstrated some impeccable footwork after playing a through ball only to pass it off to Fala who quickly sent a beamer into the back of the net.
The rest of the half proved to be a defensive lockdown as both teams shut down each others offenses. Ramapo College freshman and goalie Joshua Schaffer went on to make two saves within the half, while TCNJ’s Daniel Mecadon blocked three for the Lions. The score would remain an unchanged 1-0 in favor of The Roadrunners for the remainder of the half.
The second half started off as intense as the first with Matthew Nastarowicz scoring his second goal of the year to tie the game up for the Lions. Nastarowicz put the goal down with a header that squeezed it’s way past Schaffer off an assist from Nick Sample.
Much like the first half, the remainder of the half proved to be a physical battle that resulted in no further points. The Roadrunners showed to be much more aggressive than the Lions however, with the team holding an 8-3 shot advantage at the end of the second half. As the timer counted down to the final seconds of regulation it was clear that this game was going to be settled in overtime.
Although the rules were set for golden goal (whoever scores first wins,) the overtime battle looked as though it was going to result in a stalemate – or at the very least be pushed to penalty kicks.
But Ramapo’s early aggression and offensive dominance continued to tire out the TCNJ defense until they had finally reached their breaking point. With less than three minutes to play in overtime, the Roadrunners were awarded a penalty kick where star-player Fala put the game away to give himself his 12th goal of the year and the team their eighth win of the season.
Ramapo looks to continue their dominance this weekend as they look to take on division rival Stockton University here at the Athletic Center Turf Field.
imccall@ramapo.edu
