CAMDEN, N.J. (Sept. 18, 2021) – The Montclair State University men's soccer team scored a goal in both halves of the game and went on to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 2-0, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both teams here Saturday.
 
Montclair State, which was ranked eighth nationally in the pre-season United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III poll, improves to 5-1-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Rutgers-Camden falls to 3-2-2 and 0-1.
 
Rutgers-Camden launched the first four shots of the game, but by halftime the Red Hawks had evened the shot count at 4-4. More importantly, one of them found the back of the goal at 29:00 into the contest. Following a Scarlet Raptor foul just outside of the penalty area on the left side, MSU freshman back Ian Chesney sent a restart toward the goal, where Gene Carlo Altamirano scored on a loose ball near the goal line for his fourth tally of the season.
 
The Red Hawks added an insurance goal with 8:20 remaining in the contest off a breakaway by junior forward Josiah Crawford. He broke into the box around the right side of the Raptor defense and fired a shot into the back left corner. It was his second goal of the year.
 
The Red Hawks finished with a 9-5 advantage in shots and a 7-0 edge in corner kicks. Montclair State senior keeper Andres Lezme made two saves to register the shutout. Raptor sophomore goalie Connor Smith finished with four saves.  
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Tuesday with a 7 p.m. non-conference game at Immaculata University.