Pomona, NJ (11/4/09) – Montclair State (12-6, 4-2) scored four times in the second half and rolled to a 5-0 victory over Richard Stockton (4-15, 0-6) in the regular season finale for both teams.
Justine DiPaolo (Lanoka Harbor/Lacey Twp.) led the Red Hawks with a goal and an assist. Four additional Montclair State players netted one goal apiece as the Red Hawks continued their late-season surge.
MSU won its last three contests by a combined 14-2 margin as they will now wait to see if they will be selected to the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Championship which begins on Wednesday, November 11. Bids will be announced on Monday, November 9. MSU won back-to-back ECAC crowns in 2006 and 2007.
Just 7:32 into the game, DiPaolo fed Deana Hagel (Fairfield/West Essex) for an easy tap-in that gave Montclair an early 1-0 lead. Jessica Murphy (West Long Branch/Shore Regional) sparked the second-half scoring barrage with a goal only 2:12 after intermission. Michelle Hagel (Fairfield/West Essex) struck for the Red Hawks’ third marker at 43:07.
DiPaolo added a goal at 55:19 and Katie Norgard (Columbia/North Warren) capped the 5-0 Montclair victory with a tally with 7:59 to play. Starting goalie Megan Bosland (Boonton/ Boonton) did not face a shot in 50:50 and Noell Gomez (Fairfield/West Essex) made one save in the final 19:10 to complete the combined shutout.
Stockton goalie Debi O’Kane (Cologne/ Absegami) recorded six saves to finish the season with a school-record 211 stops this year.