UNION, N.J. (11/6/21) – David Garcia made the final goal during a shootout as the third seed Kean University men's soccer team captured the 2021 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship via penalty kicks (4-3) over fourth seed Rowan University on Saturday evening.

The Cougars won the program's 10^th conference championship and they're first since 2010. Head Coach Peter-John Falloon captures his first championship at Kean and his second as a college Head Coach after winning a title at Division II Bloomfield College in 2015.

After a scoreless 110 minutes, in which the Cougars led on shots (14-12), shots on goal (6-5), and corner kicks (8-7), Kean went to a penalty shootout for the second straight game.

In the shootout, Kean split the first two kicks with Danny Guillen scoring and Lucas Da Silva missing. Rowan led 2-1 and had a chance to put the pressure on, but Jay Vandermark missed with a ball off the crossbar to keep the Cougars alive.  Santi Alzate nailed the next kick before Dominic Ridge made a crucial stop to tie everything at 2-2.

After Kean and Rowan both nailed their next kick to remain tied at 3-3, Garcia nailed the game-winner with a misdirection shot.

Sadeiki Roberts recorded four shots, while Matt O'Shea, Nikolaos Theoudoulidis, and Raonne Dias tallied two shots apiece. Ridge five saves in 110 minutes of work.

The Cougars will now wait for their name to be called during the NCAA.com Selection Show, which will take place tomorrow, Monday, Nov 8th, at 1:00 p.m.