The men’s soccer team continued their hot start to the season by earning their first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victory of the season against William Paterson University last Wednesday and followed it up by tying Kean University on Saturday afternoon. The Roadrunners now stand at 6-2-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the NJAC.
Beginning with their win over the Pioneers, the Roadrunners got out to a quick 2-0 start in the first half thanks to goals from team captain Jack Hosmer and junior midfielder Kyle Allen. Early in the second half, Ramapo got on the board again thanks to a goal from junior forward Alim Lita, off an assist from freshman defender Justin Reid.
The Pioneers didn’t go down easy, however, as they responded with two goals in the span of three minutes. The first came unassisted off the foot of junior Dylan Nahas, and the second was scored by Diego Navas, his tenth of the year, off an assist from Filippo Dapelo.
Ten minutes after Dapelo’s goal, Hosmer knocked in his second score of the game off assists from Lita and Allen. Hosmer’s second goal proved to be a crucial one, as William Paterson scored again less than one minute later. Delvin Nketia scored his first goal of the season for the Pioneers, off an assist from Matthew Escobar.
From that point on, the game remained scoreless, ending in a 4-3 victory for the Roadrunners. In goal, Ramapo’s Nikolai Matthews recorded four saves in the win, while William Paterson’s Luca Misko tallied one save. The game also got chippy late, with Ramapo’s Ari Rosu and William Paterson’s Navas and Jimmy Bruno each being ejected with red cards.
Moving to Saturday’s game, Ramapo got out to an early lead against the Cougars when Allen scored his eighth goal of the season off an assist from freshman Gianfranco Ponce only two minutes into the action. Later in the first half, Kean tied up the game with a goal from Donte East off an assist from Anthony Munoz Garcia.
East’s goal would be the final one scored for the day as the Roadrunners and Cougars ended in a 1-1 draw, earning both teams one point. In goal, Matthews tallied six saves against 14 Cougar shots, while Kean goalie Dominic Ridge recorded six saves as well.
In the final 10 seconds of action, Allen had a chance to score but was taken down by a Kean defender, leaving him injured on the field. It’s still unclear how severe Allen’s injury is, but he is expected to miss time.
The Roadrunners will enjoy a full week off before heading south to Ewing, where they’ll match up against The College of New Jersey. Then on Wednesday evening, Ramapo will host New Jersey City University. Both games will be critical NJAC matchups for the Roadrunners, as they currently sit in fifth place in the division.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Peter Bonilla, Ramapo Athletics
