Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College men's soccer team will travel to Tufts University next weekend for the 2018 NCAA Men's Soccer Sectional Round. The Roadrunners will face a familiar rival in the "Sweet 16" as they take on Montclair State University.
Rampao (17-3-2) and the Red Hawks (17-1-4) will meet for the third time this season. The matchup will take place on the campus of Tufts University at Bello Field on Saturday, November 17th at 1:30pm. Tickets for this weekend's games will be $7 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. Gates will open at 10:00 am on Saturday and 12 noon on Sunday.
The Roadrunners who are in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history, defeated Springfield College 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Guilherme DeNovaes scored the eventual game-winner off a pass from
Joseph Fala early in the first half. Fala scored an insurance goal late in the second half, his 26th of the year with an assist from
Trevor Albrecht. In their second round game on Sunday, the Roadrunners faced a Connecticut College team that had only given up four goals all season. In the 10th minute Ramapo was awarded a free-kick.
Justin Charkowski sent the 60-yard free kick into the box as Fala was able to redirect the ball past the Camel keeper to put Ramapo on the board 1-0. Roadrunner goalie
Joshua Schaffer came up big a few minutes later stopping a penalty kick with a diving save. The defense and Schaffer worked hard the rest of the game to come away with the shutout victory. Ramapo now has nine shutouts this season.
Fala continues to lead all of NCAA Division II and III in total goals (27) while he is second among NCAA Division I athletes while he also leads all three Divisions in points with 61. Albrect leads the team with 11 assists this season while he has three goals for 17 points.
Nick Petrozziello,
Chris Nash and
Edward Franzoni have all posted four goals for the team while
Jorge Castro is second on the team with seven assists. Schaffer has started all 22 games in the net with a team high 95 saves while he's faced 223 shots. He's recorded a 0.97 goals against average with over 1,940 minutes of play.
Montclair State are making their 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their 12th in the last 13 seasons. The Red Hawks advanced to the Final Four in 2011 and Elite 8 three times (2007, 2008 and 2013). MSU posted back-to-back penalty kick shootout wins over the weekend as they hosted the first two rounds at MSU Soccer Park. They defeated Colby College 4-3 in penalty kicks after finishing regulation and double overtime 1-1. On Sunday night, the Red Hawks and NYU played to a 0-0 tie before MSU won 5-4 in the penalty shootout. Three players have double-digit goals this season as Chaz Burnett leads the team with 14. Jose Huerta and Rafael Terci each have 13 and 12 goals respectively while Terci leads the team with nine assists. The team has recorded 11 shutouts this season while Mike Saalfrank leads the team in goal with 79 saves and a 0.91 goals against average in over 1,780 minutes of play.
Tufts University (14-0-3) will be hosting the NCAA "Sweet 16" and "Elite 8" Rounds for the third year in a row. The Jumbos hosted the first and second rounds and defeated Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday to advance in the tournament. The Jumbos will also face a familiar foe in NESCAC rival Amherst College (14-4-1) on Saturday at 11am. Amherst hosted and advanced with a 1-0 win against Bridgewater State on Saturday and then a 4-2 victory against St. Joseph's College (Maine) on Sunday.
