The 2025 season has come and gone for the men’s soccer team. After their 4-1 loss against The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the semifinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs, it is possibly time to say goodbye to a once-promising season.
TCNJ hit the ground running with a significant goal in the first half of the Nov. 5 matchup to put the Lions on the board. Junior Chris Meder knocked one in the bottom left corner, slipping the ball just past the gloves of freshman Red Hawks goalie Pierre Soumeillant. Though Montclair State kept the Lions’ offense at bay in the first half, Meder went on to score the three remaining goals for TCNJ in the second, recording a career-best performance in his monumental haul.
“[TCNJ] got 11 guys in the box, and they made it difficult, so I think it’s not easy when they get that many guys, and we have to attack quicker,” Montclair State head coach Todd Tumelty told reporters. “If we can attack quicker, we would’ve had more success, but we slowed the game down a little bit and let them get behind it.”
TCNJ shot with precision, making four of their 14 total shots, but Montclair State struggled to find the net. Facing countless scoring opportunities, their 27 shot attempts resulted in just one goal from senior Danny Tobon in the second half.
Senior forward Danny Tobon scored the lone goal for Montclair State in their NJAC semifinal loss to TCNJ. Syd Boni | The Montclarion
Down 3-0 in the 72nd minute, Tobon swiftly drilled a shot into the top right corner to put the Red Hawks on the board. Despite the previous tension, Tobon’s ninth goal of the season gave the Red Hawks a sense of hope and reignited their drive to keep pushing for the win.
“In the end, you know, we’re not going to give up. We’re not a team that gives up,” Tumelty said. “We were in a bad spot, but I think to see them fight and to see some of the younger guys get into the game and really try to go after it, I think it was good to see.”
Still, Meder retaliated less than one minute later, reinstating their three-point lead and cementing a win for the Lions. The Red Hawks faced challenges on defense, battling against TCNJ’s fierce offensive power. Meder, along with junior Matias Hornos and freshman Aidan Ayar, delivered notable performances for TCNJ and pushed the limits of the Red Hawk defense.
Tumelty was blunt with his feelings on the defense’s performance during the match, saying, “We had a really poor defensive effort. It wasn’t good today. We got kind of exposed and it is what it is and we’ll have to learn from it and get better going forward.”
It didn’t help when sophomore Kenneth Neves was taken out due to injury early in the first half. Neves’s offensive capabilities are hard to replace, which left the team struggling to fill his shoes.
“Losing Kenny early was tough, because they were kind of lumping balls forward, and he does a really good job with that, Tumelty said. “But, you know, obviously we have a “next guy” mentality and unfortunately, the next guy up wasn’t good enough today, but like I said, we’ll work on it and we’ll fix it for next year.”
A Nov. 5 defeat to TCNJ marked the second consecutive season Montclair State has been eliminated at home in the conference semifinal round. Syd Boni | The Montclarion
Taking a peek at next year’s season, Tumelty plans to prepare his team for these crucial, high-pressure moments.
“I think that we showed that we can get ourselves here, but we have to show we can win these games, Tumelty said. “So I think that’s going to be something that we have to work on going forward.”
The Red Hawks will need some help for their season to continue, awaiting a potential at-large bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
