SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Monmouth University men's soccer team, ranked fifth in the latest NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Rankings, defeated Seton Hall, 2-1 at Owen T. Carroll Field on Friday afternoon. The Hawks, who improve to 5-0 with the win, were paced by senior Hermann Trophy candidate Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn. /Naugatuck), who scored both goals in the win.
"This is another big win for us on the road against a BIG EAST team, and we can take the positives out of today's result," said MU head coach Robert McCourt. "We didn't have one of our best days, but we found a way to win."
MU, which has now defeated the Pirates for the second consecutive time, fell behind early in the match, allowing Seton Hall to take a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute on Victor Manosalvas' first goal of the season. Christian Battistesa was credited with an assist on the play for SHU, which dropped to 1-3-1 on the season with the loss.
Kinne, who now leads the Hawks with five goals on the season, struck for the equalizer in the 26th minute when he and freshman Jacob Rubinstein (Ocean Township, N.J. /Ocean) played a well executed give-and-go that resulted in the senior finding the back of the net with a magnificent strike from 20 yards out. The assist on the play was the first of the newcomer's career.
The match remained square until the 53rd minute when sophomore Ryan Clark (Freehold, N.J. /Freehold Township) found Kinne, who unleashed a rocket from 30 yards that beat SHU keeper Kevin Bonder. Clark was credited with his first assist of the season, and the sixth of his career, while Kinne now has 28 career goals, which ties him for fourth all-time in program history with Kyle LeBaron (1995-98).
"Today's match was a battle and it's a big win for us against a good BIG EAST team away from home," said Kinne. "The first goal was important because it got us back in the game, took some of their momentum away and gave us a lift."
The Hawks, who outshot the Pirates 17-9, including 13-4 in the second half, had a bevy of scoring opportunities in the match. Most notably, in the 77th minute, senior Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough, N.J. /Hillsborough) fired an accurate header that Bonder saved. MU also had six corner kicks, compared to five for the hosts.
Monmouth keeper Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J. /Scotch Plains-Fanwood), another Hermann Trophy candidate, made a pair of saves to record the win, improving his career record to 35-5-6. The senior's final save, which solidified the MU win, came on a Bradley Kerstetter shot in the 90th minute.
"We started off a little slow but picked it up as the match wore on," added Meredith. "Our defense had another good game and Ryan came through in the clutch."
Monmouth University, which for the second straight season has attained the highest national ranking of any program in school history, returns to action on Sunday when it hosts NJIT at 1:00 pm on The Great Lawn.
