Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 29, 2016) – In one brilliant three-minute span midway through the first half, Montclair State University senior Lucas Terci (Union, NJ/Union) shattered two program records, tied another one and almost single-handedly knocked Rutgers University-Camden out of the New Jersey Athletic Conference men's soccer playoffs.
 
Terci notched a hat trick in a span of 2:45 and the fifth-seeded Red Hawks went on to eliminate the fourth-seeded Scarlet Raptors, 4-2, in the first round of the NJAC playoffs. Montclair State (14-5-1) advances to the NJAC semifinals, where it will play a 7:30 p.m. game Tuesday at top-seeded Rutgers-Newark.
 
Rutgers-Camden falls to 8-7-4 and will miss the NJAC championship game for the first time since 2010. The Scarlet Raptors will wait to see if they earn a post-season berth in the ECAC championships when that field is selected Nov. 7.
 
Midway through the first half, Terci ran onto a through ball up the middle from senior Steven Zamudio (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen). He drilled a shot inside the left post at 20:46 for his 25th goal of the season. That tally was his 60th career goal, breaking the old program record of 59 by Erik Neubart and tying John Ioannu's 1983 single-season MSU record.
 
It didn't take long for Terci to break the single-season mark. Terci struck again at 22:36 off a through ball from senior Michael Czyrnek (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough). He went one-on-one with Raptor sophomore keeper James Brett (Palmyra, J/Palmyra) and chipped the ball over the goalie when Brett charged out to try to cut off the angle.
 
Terci completed his fourth hat trick of the season at 23:31 after a diagonal ball from senior Mike Olla (Bloomfield, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep) gave him another golden opportunity. He finished with a shot inside the left post, padding his career record to 62 goals, his season mark to 27 and also tying the program's single-season point record of 58 set by Ioannu in 1983.
 
Olla gave Montclair State a 4-0 lead in the 33rd minute after shaking some defenders with some nifty moves outside the box and hitting a shot under the crossbar for his ninth goal of the year.
 
The four goals were the most allowed by the Raptors in their NJAC playoff history, one more than the Red Hawks scored in winning the 2014 conference title game over Rutgers-Camden, 3-1.
 
Trailing, 4-0, the Scarlet Raptors tried to claw back into the game in the second half. They broke the Red Hawks' shutout bid at 58:36 when sophomore back Darnell Brown (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) headed home a long throw-in by junior forward Shane Guyer (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton). It was Brown's second goal of the season.
 
Eleven minutes later, junior midfielder Clayton Taylor (Mendham, NJ/West Morris-Mendham) finished off a scoring play with a bicycle kick goal inside the box for his fourth tally of the year. The play started with a corner kick from the left side by freshman midfielder Patrick Grudnik (South Brunswick, NJ/South Brunswick). Junior midfielder/forward Brad Maine (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) headed the ball from the far post toward the left post, where Taylor finished it.
 
With a 10-4 advantage in shots during the second half, Rutgers-Camden actually finished with a slim 14-12 lead in shots. The Raptors also held an 8-2 margin in corner kicks, with all eight coming in the second half.
 
MSU sophomore goalie Mike Saalfrank (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey) finished with seven saves, six of them in the second half. Brett made four saves, including three in the opening half.