WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Senior defender R.J. Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St.
Joseph's) scored on a penalty kick in the 77th minute Sunday
afternoon on The Great Lawn to give the Monmouth men's soccer team a 1-0
victory over Mount St. Mary's and a share of the Hawks' seventh straight
Northeast Conference Regular Season Championship. The win also signified the
100th victory in the eight-year tenure of Monmouth Head Coach Robert
McCourt. The Hawks (13-5, 7-3 NEC) move on to the NEC Tournament Semifinals as
the No. 3 seed to face fellow tri-champion and second-seeded Central
Connecticut (10-8, 7-3 NEC) on Friday at a time to be determined. By virtue of
both the three-way and head-to-head tiebreakers, Sacred Heart has earned the
right to host this year's tournament.
"I'm really proud of this
group of young men," said McCourt. "They faced a lot of adversity this year and
found a way to win another NEC Championship. We still feel like we have a lot
of soccer ahead of us and we're excited about the opportunity to play for a
berth in the NCAA Tournament. There is tremendous character in our locker room.
The guys are raring to go in the NEC Tournament."
With an NCAA Division I RPI of 39 entering the week, the Hawks have positioned
themselves in contention for a possible at-large berth, should they fall in the
NEC Tournament Championship.
After freshman Kalle Sotka (Helsinki, Finland/Makelanrinteen Sports) was taken
down inside the 18-yard box in the 77th minute, Allen went low to
the left to beat Mount St. Mary's goalkeeper Peter Steve for the game-winning
penalty kick goal.
The Hawks previously had manufactured several scoring opportunities that Steve,
the Mountaineers' defense and the crossbar would narrowly negate. During one
flurry in the second half, the Hawks hit the crossbar three times inside of a
minute and six seconds. After Sotka clanged a shot squarely off the crossbar
off a beautiful George Caiella (Pittstown, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) cross from the
right corner, Matt Jeffery (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) sent a header
into the crossbar. Moments later, Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland/Volonmaan
Lukio [URI]) put a shot on net, but a Mount St. Mary's defender just got a piece
of it to send it high enough to once again harmlessly catch the crossbar.
Monmouth goalkeeper Alex Blackburn (Natick, Mass./Natick) made two saves to
preserve the Hawks' 12th clean sheet of the season. The Hawks, who
entered the week third in the nation in shutout percentage, upped their
percentage to .667 (12-of-18). Steve made four saves in defeat for the
Mountaineers.
For the game, the Hawks outshot the Mountaineers, 14-6, and took six corner
kicks to the Mount's two.
