Men's soccer team fall at another tie

Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics

Ramapo College’s men’s soccer team recorded their fifth tie of the season against Montclair State University, 1-1, after 110 minutes of hard-fought play on Saturday, Oct. 12.  The conference draw brings Ramapo’s overall record to 7-1-5 and their NJAC record to 2-1-2.  

MSU has been a longtime rival of RCNJ.  Last season, the Red Hawks were the reason why the Roadrunners were bumped from the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.  Montclair also defeated Ramapo twice earlier in the 2018 season. It seems that this year, the Roadrunners are not going to give away those wins as easily.

Ramapo came to the pitch offensively strong and took advantage of some opportunities early in the first half.  Around the seventh minute (6:45), senior Joseph Fala capitalized on a penalty kick, scoring the first and only goal for Ramapo. Fala immediately put the Roadrunners on the board, collecting his eighth goal of the season.  

Last season, Fala led the team with 27 goals, setting a new single season program record.  He was also named NJAC Offensive Player of the Year and NJAC First Team All-Conference 2018.  This year he continues to dominate the pitch; so far this season, Fala has scored eight goals and tallied 38 shots on goal in 12 games.

In the minutes after Fala’s penalty kick goal, the Red Hawks regained control and stole a goal at 9:02 to knot the score at 1-1.

Fala attempted a second goal with a header that hit the crossbar at 9:40. The only other attempt by Ramapo in the first half was dished out by freshman Raul Macedo, yet it was saved by the Montclair goalkeeper.

In the scoreless second half of regulation play, the Roadrunners led in shots, posting seven while the Red Hawks attempted six.

No further goals were scored in 20 minutes of overtime either, ending the conference match-up at 1-1.  No shots were attempted by either team in the first overtime period, and in the second, RCNJ held the advantage 5-1, three of those shots coming from Fala.  

For the game, Ramapo led in shots 15-11, but fell short in shots on goal 6-5.  MSU was rewarded five corner kicks while RCNJ received four. An even distribution of fouls stood at 16-16 for both teams after 110 minutes.  

Joshua Schaffer defended the Roadrunner goal for 110 minutes where he collected five saves. Schaffer has started most games in the net for Ramapo this season, and he started every game last season.

Fala led the team with seven shots, followed by Macedo who recorded three, and freshman Dorant Bokshi who tallied two.  

Ramapo may face Montclair again this season if both teams qualify for the NJAC tournament in November, but for now the teams must settle for a tie.  

The Ramapo College men’s soccer team will play their next game on Saturday, Oct. 19th against Rutgers-Camden's Scarlet Raptors. The Roadrunners will be traveling to Camden for the NJAC match-up. The action kicks off at 1 p.m.     

ksutphin@ramapo.edu