Field Hockey Rally Falls Short at Montclair State

Montclair, N.J. (9/20/06) - Senior forward Vicki Egerer (Washington, N.J.) scored twice in the final 25 minutes, however the Kean University rally fell short, as the Cougars fell to host Montclair State University, 3-2, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Wednesday evening. The Cougars dropped to 1-3 overall, 0-1 in the conference, while Montclair State, ranked sixth in Division III, remained undefeated at 6-0.

For Montclair, senior forward Kristen Swartz (Hatboro, Pa.) scored two goals, while Jennifer Tanis (Oak Ridge, N.J.) added a goal and an assist, as MSU opened the season with six consecutive wins for the third straight season and defeated the Cougars for the 13th straight time.

Montclair State appeared to take a comfortable 3-0 lead at the 40:58 mark as Tanis scored her eight goal of the year. Justine DiPaolo (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) slid a pass inside the five yard line to Tanis, who spun around with a backhand that beat Kean goalkeeper Jenni Barry (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) to the right lower corner.

Despite being outshot 25-6 in the game, the Cougars began their furious comeback. Off a penalty corner, just their second of four in the match, Katie McGee (Cherry Hill, N.J.) unleashed a shot from the top of the circle toward the cage. Egerer, who inserted the pass, was there to tip in the shot for her first goal, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

Kean would then make it a one-goal game just under 11 minutes later. Off another penalty corner, McGee flipped a shot that appeared to be knocked away by an MSU defender. A penalty stroke was called and Egerer made the most of the opportunity getting the stroke past the outstretched reach of Montclair's Jacquie Supko (Moorestown, N.J.).

The Cougars had two opportunities to tie the game with seven minutes remaining. Brittany Gibbs (West Deptford, N.J.) got off two shots, the first that Supko kicked away. The rebound came back out to Gibbs, who got the shot past Supko, but defender Kim Demkowicz (Millstone, N.J. was there to slap the ball away keeping the Red Hawks in front.

Barry made 13 saves for the Cougars, eight coming in the first half, including a stop of a penalty stroke after the Red Hawks had gone up 1-0. Supko made two saves for Montclair State. MSU also held a 17-4 advantage in penalty corners.

Swartz gave the Red Hawks a 1-0 lead at the 20:11 mark as she scored off a short feed in front from Jen Soss (Hamilton, N.J.). She would extend the lead 1:53 into the second half, flipping in a pass from Tanis for her fifth marker of the season.

Kean hosts Mount St. Vincent in the team's home opener on Saturday, September 23 at 1:00 pm. Montclair State returns to action next Tuesday, September 26 as they travel to Ewing to face third-ranked The College of New Jersey at 7:30 pm in Lions Stadium.