The no. 12 Red Hawks defeated no. 19 Kean University in the NJAC semifinals on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of MSU Athletics
The Montclair State Field Hockey team is headed to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship.
The Red Hawks defeated Kean University 1-0 on Wednesday evening to move on to the most important game of the season. Junior forward Kaitlyn Struss was the hero with the lone goal of the game in the 40th minute. Montclair State will now move on to face The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the NJAC Championship.
Struss has been the leading scorer for the Red Hawks this season. During a play in the early minutes of the second half, Struss collected the ball at the 5 yard line after a penalty corner. She shot the ball towards the inside of the right post and into the goal. It was her 13th goal of the season.
Saturday will be the third time TCNJ and Montclair State face off for the NJAC title. The TCNJ Lions won the championship in 2011. Two years later, the Red Hawks won the tournament. TCNJ also played Wednesday evening, winning its NJAC semifinal game against Rowan University 3-1.
The Lions are undefeated in NJAC play. The Red Hawks are 2nd in the NJAC with a 5-1 conference record. The NJAC Championship will be on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at TCNJ.
