With mere seconds left in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament, graduate midfielder Aileen Cahill emerged through a chaotic corner attempt and netted the golden goal that kept her team’s championship hopes alive.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy as the Montclair State University women’s soccer team defeated Kean University 1-0 in an overtime thriller.
Montclair State is set to play Rowan in the semifinal.
Photo courtesy of Matt DeLuca Photo credit: Matt DeLuca
The goal was the 43rd of Cahill’s collegiate career and her 15th game-winner. Head coach Patrick Naughter heaped the highest of praises onto the veteran midfielder.
“[Cahill] is the best player who’s played soccer here,” said Naughter. “She’s the best female player in school history. Her work rate is unbelievable, and the fact she’s won a playoff game for us makes all the sense in the world. I’m glad I get to coach her for a couple of more days.”
Heading into the matchup, the third seeded Red Hawks were 5-2-1 in conference play, as the Cougars narrowly earned the sixth and final slot in the tournament with a 2-3-3 record. In the regular season, the Red Hawks beat the Cougars 1-0.
At the start of the match, Montclair State would be the attacking force against Kean. However, the Red Hawks could not connect on any of their scoring attempts. Cahill hitting an attempt off the crossbar was only one example of Montclair State being on the edge of scoring during the opening stages.
Although the Red Hawks would outshoot the Cougars 13-4, the game was scoreless at the halfway mark. Junior midfielder Emily Schuler said that Montclair State needed to finish on their opportunities.
“We needed the ball in the back of the net,” said Schuler. “Sometimes we do too much or overcomplicate things, but that’s because we are a talented team, and we do have the ability to do that. Sometimes [that means] just ripping a ball off and catching them off guard.”
Montclair State were looking to get things going early in the second half, and yet again it was Cahill shooting the first attempt of the second half, but her shot went over the goal.
The Red Hawks looked strong in the second half, recording five of the first six shots over the opening 15 minutes and having more corner kicks than them.
Throughout the game, the backline of Kean bent but did not break. The Cougars had several bursts of offensive attack as well.
With no score at the end of regular time, a hard-fought season of soccer would come down to overtime. Both teams were deadlocked, and neither were close to scoring.
In the 99th minute, a cross from senior defender Emmi DeNovellis found sophomore forward Madeline Lesica, but her header was blocked. A DeNovellis attempt was also blocked immediately after.
A clearance attempt from the Cougars fell to Cahill, and she ripped a shot with her left foot into the far corner of the net to seal the victory in the 99th minute. Schuler said that she wasn’t surprised that Cahill was able to score the golden goal.
“[Cahill] is super strong. She’s gotten all the recognition she deserves,” said Schuler. “Her goal doesn’t surprise me, and we get to celebrate with her.”
A Red Hawk goal in the 99th minute delivered the win to Montclair State.
Photo courtesy of Matt DeLuca Photo credit: Matt DeLuca
Freshman goalkeeper Salange Bell, who notched three saves and recorded her eighth clean sheet of the season, has not let in a goal in the last 417 minutes of play.
Friends and family of the team walked up to the fence to cheer them on. At the same time, Naughter’s son ran onto the field to celebrate with his father. Naughter said that it made for a special moment.
“Seeing how much it meant to my son [is everything],” said Naughter. “Seeing him run across the field is one of the things you’ll never forget. My wife is holding everything together while we’re out here practicing or playing games. Just getting the result, I know it means a lot to them as well.”
Montclair State will now move on to the semifinal round against Rowan University. Naughter said that his team is ready.
“We want to put pressure on them and attack them,” said Naughter. “We know we got good players, and we know we’re in the semifinals for a reason.”
