Montclair, NJ (3/27/10) – Senior attack Patrick Nann (Livingston, NJ / Livingston) scored 55 seconds into the second overtime as Montclair State won its third straight game knocking off previously unbeaten and 19th-ranked Rensselaer, 4-3 at Sprague Field on Saturday afternoon.

Senior midfielder Taylor Bonner (Old Bridge, NJ / Old Bridge) scored a pair of goals as the Red Hawks won their fourth straight to improve to 5-3 on the season while also topping its third Top 20 opponent this season. MSU, which was in the receiving votes section of the latest USILA Division III poll, defeated No. 16 Wesleyan and No. 15 Stevens last week.

Junior midfielder Conor Chocheles (Babylon, NY / Babylon) had a goal and assist for the Engineers, who fell to 6-1.

The first meeting between the teams proved to be a dandy as defense ruled the day.

After a scoreless first period Montclair struck first on the board taking advantage of a man-up situation. Sophomore attack Tyler Meth (Basking Ridge, NJ / Ridge) found Bonner for the goals as MSU led 1-0 with 5:10 left in the opening period. Bonner would strike again with 2:47 remaining this time off an assist from Matthew Prongay (Edison, NJ / Edison) as the Red Hawks held a 2-0 advantage after one.

Scoring would be hard to come by in the second quarter. In fact any offensive opportunity was as the teams put forth just 12 total shots with none finding its way into the back of the net as Montclair took its two-goal lead into the break.

Rensselaer would break through finally in the third quarter as the Engineers quickly tied the team before the halfway point of the period. Chocheles finished off a pass from Paul Cerone (Ridgefield, CT / Ridgefield) at 13:27 for the first score and then set up Bryant Johnson (Minnetonka, MN / Blake School) for the next as RPI knotted the game at 2-2 with 8:03 left.

Montclair would go back on top inside three minutes remaining as it took advantage of another man-up opportunity. Prongay would get the goal off an assist from freshman Ryan Kloss (Flemington, NJ / Hillsborough) as MSU led 3-2.

But the Engineers would forge another tie with 36 seconds left in one of the more bizarre fashions. RPI’s Andrew Miller (New Hartford, NY / New Hartford) took a shot that was stopped by Andrew Rosado (Elmwood Park, NJ / St. Joseph’s (Montvale)). The Red Hawks were attempting the clear when Rosado flipped the ball out to defenseman Dustin Malaszuk (Clifton, NJ / Clifton). Malaszuk then went to pass the ball back to Rosado however the pass caught the goalkeeper off guard and wound up in the back of the net for an own goal.

The goal turned out to be the only scoring until the second overtime. Off the faceoff win by Marc Guido (North Caldwell, NJ / West Essex) and ground ball pick up by Bonner, Montclair moved the ball around for the nearly the first minute before Robert Sinicola (North Caldwell, NJ / West Essex) found Nann for the game-winning tally.

Rosado finished with 15 saves for MSU, which was outshot in the game 29-22. Guido was 9-of-12 on faceoffs with five ground balls with Rosado also picking up five.

Freshman goalkeeper James Manchester (Niskayuna, NY / Niskayuna) had nine saves for RPI. Chocheles and Chris O’Neill (New Hartford, NY / New Hartford) had four ground balls apiece for the Engineers.

The Red Hawks are next in action on Wednesday, March 31 as they travel to Drew University for a 7:00 pm faceoff against the Rangers in Madison. RPI is home on the same day for a 4:00 pm Liberty League contest against Skidmore.