Men’s Soccer Remains Undefeated

By Steven Moncayo

The 20th nationally ranked Montclair State University’s Soccer team showed a dominant display at home as they comfortably cruised by Penn State Abington 3-0 this Tuesday evening.

Tonight marked the first-ever meeting between Abington and Montclair State and it didn’t take long for the pressure to be put early on Abington as the Red Hawks took the early lead when Sophomore Ian Chesney picked out a pass to Senior Justin Goldberg who opened his scoring account for the season by successfully taking on two defenders and finishing from distance with a shot deflected off Penn State Abington’s defender Lex Lenoir’s foot falling straight into the back of Abington’s net.

Sophomore Ian Chesney looks for his third straight NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honor as he also grabbed a goal of his own in the 39th minute from a dangerous corner whipped in by Junior Evan Chacon and off Goldberg’s head to fall right into the right foot of Ian Chesney who guides it into the back of the opposition net to double Montclair State University’s lead. Chesney is now the Red Hawk’s top goal contributor with 3 goals and 2 assists and looks to top his numbers from last season (3 goals and 4 assists).

Montclair State struck once more this time in the early minutes of the second half. Freshman Anthony Viola guided the ball with his left foot outside the 18-yard box into the top left corner of the net to connect on his first career goal in the 51st minute as the Red Hawks extended the lead to 3-0.

From the beginning of the game, the Lions had a difficult time trying to work their way up through the midfield because of the Red Hawk’s constant pressure. The Lions were mostly kept in their half with the Red Hawk’s dominating possession and taking shots from all angles. It was key figures like Sophomore Ian Chesney and Senior Justin Goldberg that held Penn State Abington to no goals throughout the game.

“It’s communication, it’s teamwork, and at the end of the day it’s because our heads are together,” Goldberg said. “On the field, it’s not about yelling at the ref, it’s not about who messes up the next play, it’s pushing each other on, and it’s a team effort.”

Junior goalkeeper Matt Sheldon from Penn State was busy tonight as he set a career-high in saves as he totaled nine in the game.

The Red Hawks outshot the Lions as they were able to put up 20 shots with twelve of them on target compared to three shots only for Abington who only had two shots on target throughout the game.

Towards the end of the game, a lot of new faces began to enter the field such as Freshman Jackson Perata, Freshman Adan Franco, and Freshman Joseph Commiso.

Goldberg thinks it’s crucial that the young players of the team get more minutes as the season continues to move forward.

“As we get deeper into the season, there’s going to be a lot more people seeing a lot more minutes, ” Goldberg said. I think it’s great for guys to come out here and kind of get those first game jitters of their hands and to just get out here and play.

The Red Hawks now enter the New Jersey Athletic Conference with their heads high on Friday as they host an undefeated New Jersey City University team at 7 p.m. at MSU Soccer Park.

Goldberg thinks they’ll be just fine as they head into conference play.

“We’re going to come out here, play, and prepare the same way we always will, and let’s hope for the same results,” Goldberg said. “Hopefully the fans come out, cheer us on and we get the ball rolling at the conference.”