The Montclair State University women’s soccer team is looking to make its way back to the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament after an appearance last year.
Looking back to last season, the team had their sights set on winning, earning 13 wins and clinching the third seat in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament. Ranked nineteenth in the country, they had their sights on a title.
In the first round they matched up against Stockton, and after a comeback 3-2 victory from the team, they moved on to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) where they ultimately fell short with a 3-2 loss in the semifinals.
Although they didn’t win the NJAC, they secured an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, where they lost the first round against Virginia Wesleyan University in penalty kicks.
Last season ended with heartbreak and marked the end of the careers of some notable Red Hawks including goalkeeper Hailey Martin, forward Lauren Ernst and forward Kimberly Campbell, among others.
With gaping holes in the lineup, the coaching staff looked to replace those players, and some are making an immediate impact already.
The Red Hawks have played their first five matches on the road.
Photo courtesy of Matt DeLuca
Junior defender Ashley DeFrancesco from Fanwood, NJ sat out all last season with an injury. In her freshman season, she was awarded All-Region First Team and first team All-NJAC honors.
Four Division I transfers have come in to replace key players.
Graduate defender Mackenzie Morano, sophomore midfielder Tatyanne Schivel and sophomore defender Aria Hicks all previously played at Division I institutions.
The transfer student making the biggest impact offensively so far is junior midfielder Mackenzie Albert, who transferred from Iona University. She is the co-leader in goals so far this season after netting two.
The Red Hawks have had a challenging string of non-conference matchups.
Photo courtesy of Matt DeLuca
Three freshman also were recruited to fill out this roster and already are making impacts this season:
Goalkeeper Salange Bell, from Montclair, NJ has already been the starter for the first five games of the season. She was All-Conference in track, basketball and soccer in high school.
Forward Samira Lukovic, from Cedar Grove, NJ, holds four records at Cedar Grove High School and was named both First & Second Team All-Conference. She is also the cousin of men’s soccer player Amer Lukovic and women’s lacrosse player Amra Lukovic.
Midfielder Madelyn Beirne, from Stafford, NJ, was an All-Conference player in high school and graduated in the top 8% of her high school class.
Head coach Pat Naughter said the new faces have fit right into the culture of Montclair State team.
“I think they’ve done a great job coming in and being humble. They’re good players,” Naughter said. “We have a lot of really good new faces here, and I think they’ve come in, hit the ground running and have been ready to play. I think the culture of the program is welcoming and accepting, and that’s the thing I’m most proud of as a coach.”
Montclair State has recruited four Division I transfer students this season.
Photo courtesy of Matt DeLuca
The team started the season with five straightaway games. The season started on Aug. 30 when they headed south to Pennsylvania to play Swarthmore College and Widener College on back-to-back days.
In that game, the Red Hawks drew with Swarthmore 1-1 in a very tight-knit game where junior forward Kylie Prendergast scored her first goal of the season.
The next day at Widener, the Red Hawks dominated with a 3-0 victory. Albert scored her first goal as a Red Hawk. Last year’s NJAC Rookie of the Year sophomore Shannon Mullins picked up where she left off with her first goal of the season. Graduate midfielder Aileen Cahill was undoubtedly the most valuable player of the game. She netted a goal and three assists.
They traveled to upstate New York for their next matchup to face SUNY New Paltz. New Paltz was ahead until the 84th minute, when Albert netted her second goal of the season from yet another Cahill assist.
Their efforts were enough to draw with New Paltz, 1-1.
A trip to Connecticut was next, with a match against the University of Hartford, which saw the Red Hawks face their first defeat after conceding two goals.
They then went to Dallas, Pennsylvania to play number five ranked in the country, Misericordia University. The Red Hawks tried to fight back and get a draw but eventually lost 1-0 against a great side.
With an eclipsing record of 1-2-2, Coach Naughter talked about the struggles and the strength of their schedule so far.
“It’s been a lot,” Naughter said. “You know, we played some really, really good teams. One of the websites says it’s ranked as the fifth hardest schedule in the country right now. And I agree with that. We’ve responded really, really well. I think we’re playing excellent soccer. We’re trying to move the ball, we’re trying to be more aggressive. We’re trying to put more pressure on the opponents. We’re not sitting in playing for ties.”
The home opener comes against Vassar College, who are undefeated on the season. Junior defender Julie Baker said that she is happy to finally be back home at MSU Soccer Park.
“We’re all super excited for our first home opener. We’ve had a tough five games away. So it’d be nice to be home and not have a bus ride,” Baker said. “The energy is going to be awesome. We’re just excited to play actually at our school.”
Schuler said that Vassar has always been a challenging game in their nonconference schedule.
“Vassar has always been kind of one of those schools who are a little bit tricky,” Schuler said. “They’re not like a [New Jersey] school. So they’re always a good test. We always look forward to playing them. They’re going to be strong.”
Four games separate today and the NJAC opener. Three out of the four are home matches.
The team does not play their conference opener until Sept. 28 when they go on the road to New Jersey City University.
Every game matters as the battle for seeding in the NJAC tournament will be decided by razor-thin margins. After falling short last season, the Red Hawks look to bounce back and try to win the NJAC for the first time since 2020.
All signs point to an amazing season, but fans will have to see what the NJAC has in store for their team.
