MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Two first half goals from senior JP Gonzales (Paterson, N.J./Passaic County Tech) was not enough as the sixth seeded William Paterson men's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to third seeded Montclair State, 3-2 in overtime in the opening round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament Saturday evening at MSU Soccer Park.
 
Gonzales struck twice in the opening 45 minutes to push the Pioneers to a 2-0 lead. The senior was an offensive catalyst all night, tallying eight shots and creating several opportunities, but WP could not hold off the Red Hawks for their first NJAC postseason victory since the 2011 season. Sophomore Keysean Brant-Sharp (East Brunswick, N.J./East Brunswick) tallied the lone assist of the night for the Pioneers.
 
After a back and forth start to the contest, the Pioneers broke through in the 24th minute of action, as sophomore Kyle Adams (Bordentown, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional) found Brant-Sharp down the right flank with an over-the-top ball. After beating his marker, Brant-Sharp delivered a perfectly placed cross on the goal mouth to put the Pioneers up 1-0.
 
Using the momentum from the opening tally, the Pioneers countered a Red Hawk attack with another great ball over the top from sophomore Andre Michalec (Hamilton Twp., N.J./Steinert) to Gonzales. After beating two defenders, Gonzales' initial shot was stopped, but put home the rebound to double the advantage to 2-0, a score that carried into the second half.
 
The Pioneer defense was tested often in the second half, but the back line did an excellent job in keeping attacks away from goal for much of the stanza. Montclair State finally broke through in the 73rd minute when Joe Bianco put home a ball from Chaz Burnett to cut the lead in half. WP looked to put the game out of reach in the 83rd minute when senior Dante Petrocelli (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) found space at the right corner of the penalty area but an excellent diving stop by Red Hawk keeper Mike Saalfrank kept the score 2-1.
 
With less than four minutes remaining, Burnett intercepted a pass back to sophomore keeper Kyle Quigley (Columbus, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional), and took advantage of the wide-open opportunity, firing a shot inside the left post to level the scoring, 2-2 and forcing an overtime period.
 
Late in the extra period, the Pioneers were called for a hand ball just outside the penalty area leading to a Red Hawks free kick. Montclair State's Mike Taranto fired a low shot that deflected off the wall and past a diving Quigley to propel the Red Hawks into the semifinals and leave the Pioneers speechless.
 
The Pioneers will now await the selection of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association (ECAC) Division III Men's Soccer Championship field in two weeks.
 
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