MONTCLAIR, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | On a special night for head coach Joe Cullen, the New Jersey City University men's soccer team (5-7-0, 0-6-0 NJAC) traveled to take on arguably the best team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference—No. 17/19 ranked Montclair State University (13-1-1, 6-0-0 NJAC). The Gothic Knights fell 4-0 on the evening, but it was still a meaningful night, as it was the first time Cullen had returned to MSU Soccer Park since being inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame last week.
 
"It's always good to be back at MSU. This place is a big part of my playing and coaching roots," Cullen said. "Myself, and a lot of my staff are alums and we are still very close with the coaches here."
 
Cullen helped lead the Red Hawks to four consecutive NJAC titles from 2006-2009, playing and starting in every game for those four years. The team made the NCAA Division III Tournament each of those seasons. Cullen made First-Team All-Conference twice, finishing his career with 16 goals and 28 assists. Only two players in Montclair State history have more assists than Cullen. His nine game-winning goals rank sixth in school history.
 
As for the game itself, it was a dominant performance by MSU, ranked No. 17 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Division III Top 25 poll released earlier in the day, No. 19 by D3soccer.com and No. 3 in the NCAA Division III South Atlantic Region. The Red Hawks outshot the Knights 31-3 (14-1 on goal) on the evening, including 17-1 in the second half. MSU scored twice in each half.
 
NJCU largely remained in the game thanks to the efforts of sophomore keeper Aldahir Cazun (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson), who made his third start of the season and stopped a season-high 10 shots.
 
The Hawks got ahead quickly, in the second minute, with Jose Huerta (Paterson, N.J.) scoring his 10th goal of the season just 1:35 into the action. That strike moved him into a tie for third in the NJAC this season. Chaz Burnett (Glen Ridge, N.J.) doubled the lead in the 36th minute, his ninth tally of the season.
 
In the second half, Colin Mulligan (Freehold, N.J.) and Brent Llewellyn (West Orange, N.J.) each scored their second goals of the season to put the game out of reach.
 
Senior forward Rafael Terci (Union, N.J.), a three-time All-NJAC performer, assisted on the first and third goals. Freshman mid Anrhony Pelaez (Union, N.J.) and sophomore forward Dimitri Mataras (Ridgefield, N.J.) had the other assists.
 
"It was a tough loss tonight against a good MSU side who's been playing very well," Cullen noted. "We are banged up with injuries and trying our best to give as many guys as possible conference minutes to build some experience to move forward with."
 
The Knights played 22 players on the evening, with junior forward Koshane Marshall (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) taking the lone shot on target for NJCU in the game. Mike Saalfrank (Ramsey, N.J.) got the shutout for the Red Hawks.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series record: 65th meeting. Montclair State leads all-time, 51-11-3 and has won the last nine meetings.
• Cazun reached double figures in saves for the second time in his career. He had a career-high 13 at Rowan on September 16, 2017.
• Montclair State has outscored opponents this season, 64-11. MSU recorded its ninth shutout of the season.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU travels to Ewing, N.J. to face off with The College of New Jersey (7-4-1, 1-3-1 NJAC) on Saturday, October 13. It will be the final road NJAC game of the season for NJCU and will have a special start time (11:00 a.m.)

 
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