Montclair, NJ (9/17/11) – Freshman forward Erika Suhl (Brick, NJ / Brick Memorial) headed in a pass from Dayan Sakalsky (Long Valley, NJ / West Morris Central) with 1:44 remaining in the first overtime period as Rowan University slipped past Montclair State, 1-0 in the NJAC opener for both teams at MSU Soccer Park on Saturday afternoon.

Junior goalkeeper Lyndsie Bernardini (Elmer, NJ / A.P. Schalick) made six saves for her first shutout of the season as the Profs squared their record for the year at 2-2.

Freshman goalkeeper Gina Policastro (East Brunswick, NJ / East Brunswick) made five saves for Montclair State, which fell back to the .500 mark at 3-3 with its third consecutive 1-0 loss.

Scoreless through the first 90 minutes of regulation, Rowan got a pair of early shots as Sakalsky’s attempt at 93:14 was blocked and Nine Fragoso (Franklinville, NJ / Delsea Regional) had her shot got wide. Five more minutes would go by before Rowan connected for the game-winner.

Veronica Rhea (Pennsauken, NJ / Paul VI) got the ball near midfield and attacked before sending a ball wide on the right side. Sakalsky picked up the ball on the wing before serving a ball into the box where Suhl flicked a header toward the left post that was just out of the reach of Policastro for the goal, her first of the season.

Each team would have their chances in the game. Policastro made back-to-back saves on Suhl and Fragoso inside 10 minutes and added two more by the 15 minute mark to keep the game scoreless. Bernardini would come up with four saves as well in the first half.

In the second half, Bernardini scooped up a shot by Rachel Senyszyn (Succasunna, NJ / Roxbury) at 48:45. Two minutes later, Rowan nearly put a goal on the board, however Linda Sierra’s (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee) shot clanked off the crossbar. Late in the second period,  Montclair’s Melanie Greco (Bridgewater, NJ / Bridgewater-Raritan) sent a ball in from the right side that skimmed just over the crossbar.

Rowan held a 22-10 advantage in shots in the game and had a 12-3 margin in corner kicks.

Montclair State returns to action on Wednesday, September 21 when its travels nine miles for an NJAC matchup with local rival William Paterson in Wayne, NJ at 7:00 pm.