It was Senior Day on Monday, Oct. 16, celebrating defender Carly Amerman and forward Carlie Van Tassel while the Red Hawks earned a huge victory over Arcadia University.
The two seniors Carly Amerman (right) and Carlie Van Tassel (left) leading the huddle. Allen Macaraeg | The Montclarion
According to Amerman, the night was extremely special.
“It definitely was really special,” Amerman said. “It’s just two of us seniors so we’re very close-knit and very tight so we really wanted to get a win today. Just makes it even more exciting, even more special, just knowing that it’s my last year here and getting it done.”
The final score of the game was 4-1 and Montclair State University had the lead for the entire game. The team is now on a two-game winning streak with a 6-9 record on the season.
The teams each displayed tough defense in the first quarter. After four shots from the Knights, sophomore goalkeeper McKenna Laman was able to block all of them from scoring.
Montclair State celebrating a goal together against Arcadia University. Allen Macaraeg | The Montclarion
The Red Hawks were able to play at their pace throughout the game, helping them achieve the win.
“I think we played to our pace,” Amerman said. “We didn’t play down to anybody else’s level and we really controlled the game with what we were doing, how we passed, how we, how fast we were playing, and it paid off.”
Junior midfielder/forward Gab Maisto scored the first goal of the game after a scrum allowed her to find a rebound opportunity which gave the Red Hawks an early lead.
The Red Hawks scored again later in the second quarter, from a goal that bounced off the goalie blocker and was shot from within the inside circle by freshman midfielder Sami Bloom. Immediately following, Arcadia scored their first goal of the game, cutting the lead in half.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Red Hawks came out firing. Maisto found Bloom for the second goal of the game. Montclair State went up a 3-1 lead and blocked three shots from the Knights to maintain the lead heading into the fourth.
Montclair State never stopped fighting throughout the game and remained aggressive even with the lead.
“I would say we never let ourselves get complacent,” Amerman said. “We wanted to push and keep fighting for more goals and really just show that we can score and we’re capable of doing more than we think we can.”
After another assist from Maisto, Van Tassel reverse flicked in the ball and scored within the first minutes of the fourth quarter, giving the Red Hawks a lead of 4-1. Montclair State took six more shots throughout the rest of the match.
The Red Hawks believe that confidence will play a big part in their next game as they face Rowan University on Saturday, Oct. 21, which is a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game.
Carlie Van Tassel leads the team in goals with 6. Allen Macaraeg | The Montclarion
“Something we’ve been talking about is our confidence,” Amerman said. “This is definitely a game that we needed to win to pick up our confidence. We don’t have a winning record, but just knowing that we can beat teams that are tough opponents, it’s really just gonna boost us up and we’re looking forward to [the next] game.”
