PITMAN—After claiming its seventh NJAC title in the past 13 years in 2018 before advancing to the fourth round of the NCAA Tournament, Montclair State University has been selected as the 2019 men’s soccer preseason favorite in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Red Hawks will be seeking their 13th NJAC title since 1961.

MSU received 8-of-the-10 first-pace votes cast by the league’s head coaches. The 2018 Red Hawks were the NJAC regular season champions with a league-best 8-0-1 record in conference play before claiming the conference title outright with NJAC Tournament wins over Rowan and Ramapo. Reigning NJAC Coach of the Year Todd Tumelty then led MSU on a two-week NCAA Tournament run which saw the Red Hawks advance in penalty kicks twice after posting first and second round draws against Colby and New York University. Montclair State then recorded an NCAA third round win over league-rival
Ramapo before falling to eventual NCAA Division III National Champion Tufts in the NCAA regional final.

In eight seasons at the helm of his alma mater’s program, Tumelty has guided the Red Hawks to an overall mark of 138-34-14, including a record of 18-2-4 in 2018.  MSU returns five all-conference players from its 2018 NJAC Championship squad, including senior forward Jose Huerta, senior back Damian Kolodziej, sophomore midfielder Anthony Pelaez, senior midfielder Colin Mulligan, and the 2018 NJAC Rookie of the Year in sophomore midfielder Michael Knapp.

Ramapo College, which earned an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament after posting runner-up finishes in both the NJAC regular season and the NJAC Tournament, was selected to place second and received one first-place vote. Picked to finish ninth in the 2018 NJAC preseason coaches’ poll, the Roadrunners posted a 17-4-2 overall record, including a 6-2-1 mark in league play. Ramapo then proceeded to secure NCAA Tournament shutout wins over Springfield and Connecticut College, before falling to NJAC rival Montclair State in the NCAA third round. Now in his 16th season at the helm of the Roadrunners, head coach DJ Pinton has guided his alma mater’s program to a 149-103-30 overall record. Ramapo returns a trio of all-conference players from its 2018 NJAC runner-up squad, including senior back Justin Charkowski, junior goalkeeper Joshua Schaffer, and the reigning NJAC Offensive Player of the Year in senior forward Joseph Fala.

Rowan University, which finished 12-7-0 overall in 2018, was selected to place third and received one first-place vote. The 2018 Profs notched a fourth-place NJAC finish with a 5-4-0 mark in league play. Sixth-year head coach Scott Baker has guided his alma mater’s program to an overall record of 72-29-2, while his career collegiate men’s coaching record stands at 78-40-2. Rowan returns a pair of all-conference players from the 2018 season in senior midfielder Kevin Primich, and the two-time reigning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year in senior back Modou Sowe.

Rutgers University-Camden, which earned a berth in the 2018 ECAC Tournament en route to a 14-6-2 overall record, was selected to place fourth. The 2018 Scarlet Raptors posted a third-place finish in the NJAC regular season with a 6-2-1 record in league play before falling to league-rival William Paterson in both the NJAC and the ECAC Tournaments. Now in his 14th-year at the helm of the program, Tim Oswald has guided Rutgers-Camden to an overall mark of 186-79-35. The Scarlet Raptors return five all-conference players from their 2018 ECAC Tournament squad, including junior forward Skyler Diggs, senior forward Patrick Grudnik, senior back Trenton Hall, senior midfielder Chris Taraska, and sophomore back Michael Funaro.            

Stockton University, which finished fifth in the 2018 NJAC conference race with a 4-3-2 league record, was selected to again place fifth. Fifth-year head coach Greg Ruttler has guided his alma mater’s program to a 43-27-12 record during his four seasons in Galloway, including an overall mark of 8-9-3 in 2018. Stockton returns a trio of all-conference players from the 2018 season, including senior midfielder Christian Bik, senior back Larry Abanilla, and senior goalkeeper Michael Lescano.

William Paterson University, which advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 ECAC Tournament en route to a 14-8-1 overall record, was selected to place sixth. Led by the longest-tenured NJAC men’s soccer coach in Brian Woods, the Pioneers have posted an overall mark of 230-230-51 during his 27 seasons in Wayne. The 2018 Pioneers finished sixth in the NJAC regular season, but advanced to the semifinals of both the NJAC and the ECAC Tournaments. WPU returns a trio of all-conference performers from its 2018 ECAC Tournament squad, including senior midfielder Cameron Allen, senior midfielder Jordan Saling, and senior forward Keysean Brant-Sharp.  

Rutgers University-Newark, which advanced the championship match of the 2018 ECAC Tournament en route to a 12-9-1 overall record, was selected to finish seventh. The 2018 Scarlet Raiders posted ECAC Tournament wins over SUNY Maritime, Manhattanville and NJAC rival William Paterson, before falling in the ECAC title match to Drew. Now in his 13th-season at the helm of the program, head coach Kevin East has guided Rutgers-Newark to an overall mark of 173-85-16, while his career collegiate coaching record stands at 291-151-27. The Scarlet Raiders return a pair of all-league players from their 2018 ECAC runner-up squad in sophomore midfielder Joe Alba and sophomore forward Franco Catania.

The coaches’ dark horse selection for the second consecutive season, Kean University was selected to place eighth. The 2018 Cougars posted a 5-9-3 overall record. Third-year head coach Peter-John Falloon has guided Kean to 15 victories during his first two seasons in Union, while his career collegiate coaching record stands at 93-91-18. Kean returns one all-conference player from 2018 in sophomore forward Felipe Lucas. 

The College of New Jersey, led by 25th-year head coach George Nazario, was selected to place ninth. Under Nazario the Lions have posted a record of 234-172-50, including an overall mark of 10-6-2 in 2018. The Lions return a pair of all-conference performers from the 2018 season in junior forward Ryan Vazquez and senior back Michael Maltese.  

New Jersey City University, under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Joe Cullen, was selected to finish 10th. Cullen has led the Gothic Knights to 18 victories during his first three seasons, including a record of 6-11-0 in 2018.  NJCU returns one 2018 all-conference honoree in junior back Mike Almeida.  

The 61st season of NJAC men’s soccer will kickoff on Friday, August 30 with all 10 league teams in non-conference action. Conference play will begin just 24 days later on Saturday, September 21 with the first league matches of the season.

The top six regular season finishers will advance to the NJAC Championship Tournament which will begin with first round action on Saturday, November 2. The NJAC Tournament semifinals will be conducted on Wednesday, November 6, and the 2019 NJAC Championship Match will be played at the site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, November 9. The winner of the NJAC Tournament receives the conference’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.

2019 NJAC Men's Soccer
Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Montclair State (8)
2. Ramapo (1)
3. Rowan (1)
4. Rutgers-Camden
5. Stockton
6. William Paterson
7. Rutgers-Newark
8. Kean (dark horse)
9. The College of New Jersey
10. New Jersey City
(first place votes in parenthesis)