MELE NAMED TO D3KICKS.COM
ALL-AMERICA TEAM; MSU PUTS FOUR ON ALL-REGION TEAM

Montclair, NJ (1/3/08) – The Montclair State men's soccer team picked up their final awards for the 2007 season on Thursday as four members were named to the D3Kicks.com All-Metro Region Team. Junior goalkeeper Nick Mele (Delran, NJ / Delran) , a First-Team honoree, was also chosen to the organization's All-America Third Team.

Joining Mele on the First Team All-Region squad was junior Tyler Masterson (Long Valley, NJ / West Morris Central). Senior Owen Nichols (Princeton, NJ / Pinceton) and sophomore John Esposito (Hillside, NJ / Hillside) were selected to the Second Team.

Last month, Mele became the 14th different player and the first goalkeeper in Montclair State history to garner All-America honors as he was chosen to the National Soccer Coaches Association Division III Second Team. It is the 20th All-American award for the program overall.

Mele put together perhaps the finest season by any Montclair State goalkeeper. The 6-2 junior helped lead the Red Hawks, who finished the year ranked No. 7 in the nation, to their second straight New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship and the its furthest advancement in the NCAA Division III Championship as MSU reached the Elite 8 of the tournament before falling to three-time defending national champion Messiah College, 1-0. Montclair finished the year with a 19-3-1 record.

Mele, the NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year and First-Team All-NJAC selection, posted a 0.60 goals against average and made 87 saves while posting 12 shutouts. A three-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week award winner, Mele set the Montclair single-season record for victories and posted the second-highest total for shutouts in a season as he led the conference in both those categories. In addtion, he was second in the league in save percentage (.870) and fourth in total saves.

In the final NCAA Division III statistics, Mele was ranked sixth in save percentage and 18th in goals against average. The Red Hawks were ranked in the Top 20 as a team in goals against average (16th), save percentage (9th) and shutouts per game (9th).

Eleven times this season Mele made four or more saves in a game and posted a streak of 704:34 without allowing a goal as Montclair State blanked its first eight opponents. Included in that streak was a nine-save performance in a scoreless double-overtime tie with Swarthmore and seven saves the following day as MSU topped Skidmore, 1-0. In the NJAC Championship Game at New Jersey City, Mele stopped nine shots as the Red Hawks successfully defended their conference crown with a 1-0 win over the Gothic Knights.

Mele made four saves in Montclair State's 2-1 win over Penn State Behrend in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship added four more as MSU beat New Jersey City in the NCAA Sectional Tournament. He had four saves in the loss to Messiah.

In his two seasons as a starter, Mele has posteda 35-4-2 record with 157 saves and a 0.60 goals against average which tops the Montclair State career list. He also has 36 career wins, three shy of the school record and he is 12th all-time in saves.

Masterson was one of the top scorers in the NJAC this past season as he collected 16 goals and finished with 36 points. Masterson ranked second in the league in points scored and goals. In addition, he led the NJAC in game-winning goals with seven, including the deciding goals in MSU's two NCAA Tournament victories as he scored two goals apiece in Montclair's 2-1 win over Penn State-Behrend in the second round and against New Jersey City in a 3-2 overtime triumph in the "Sweet 16" at Messiah College. He finished one game-winning goal shy of matching Sebastian DiBello's 1996 record.

Nichols finished fifth in the NJAC with a team-best 10 assists while Esposito appeared in all 23 games this season and had five goals and six assists. Ranked third in the NJAC in game-winning goals with four, Esposito recorded the assist on the game-winning goal in the NJAC Championship Game.