Photo courtesy of MSU Sports.
The Red Hawks’ season came to a screeching halt when they lost in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament on Oct. 31.
Montclair State was the third seed in the NJAC tournament, but they were unable to come up with a win against sixth-seeded Rutgers-Newark. The womens’ soccer team lost 1-0 to Rutgers-Newark, marking the first time the Red Hawks have ever lost to the team.
The women held the Scarlet Raiders to zero shots in the first half, but couldn’t convert any of their own opportunities. Senior forward Martina Landeka missed one wide immediately after a corner from junior defender Erin Sullivan at the 27:15 mark of the first half.
The Red Hawks were able to record three shots in the final five minutes of the first half, but two missed high and Veronika Tueros, the Raiders’ senior goalkeeper, was able to make a save on the other.
Montclair State started the half by out-shooting Rutgers-Newark by a 4-2 margin, but nothing materialized for either team.
However, the Scarlet Raiders scored the game’s only goal at the 67:19 mark when junior midfielder Cristina Estremera scored off a free kick following a foul on Montclair State. The Red Hawks were unable to score and ultimately lost 1-0.
The Red Hawks were eliminated from the NJAC tournament. Now, they’ll be counting on a little bit of luck if they compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament. They’ll have to wait until Nov. 9, which is when the seeding for the tournament is released, to find out.
All is not lost, though. The women’s soccer team saw seven of their players named to the All-NJAC team. Landeka was named Midfielder of the Year and was joined by Sullivan on the First Team. Senior midfielder Shawna Grabowski was named to the All-NJAC Second Team along with sophomore forward Tyler Madison and sophomore midfielder Heather Sootkoos. Two of the team’s freshmen, midfielder Ashley Koester and defender Amanda Eustice, were honorable mentions.
The team closed their season with two consecutive 1-0 road victories. Grabowski scored the game’s only goal in their victory over Swarthmore College on Oct. 24. Swarthmore College came into the game with a 13-1-1 record, but were unable to convert on any of their 10 shots. Freshman goalkeeper Erinne Finlayson earned the shutout and made two saves.
The Red Hawks were able to control their game against Rutgers-Newark on Oct. 24 as they held the Scarlet Raiders to zero shots on-net for the entire game. Landeka scored the team’s only goal at the 72:23 mark which was enough to push the team to a 1-0 victory over Rutgers-Newark.
Additionally, the women’s soccer team finished out their season on a four game shutout streak.
