The College of New Jersey has locked up a berth in the upcoming conference tournament, but no matter what’s at stake or what the records might be, Rowan is always going to be a game that matters.
The Lions (9-3-5, 4-2-2 NJAC) are just about locked into the third or fourth seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs that begin on Saturday and the Lions would love to come home from Glassboro with a win.
They travel to Rowan on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. start. Rowan has won the last five meetings and 9-of-10.
“It’s the NJAC and every game is difficult and challenging in their own way,’’ said TCNJ first-year coach Steve DeMatteo. “Rowan is a super talented team and very strong, and the pressure of the league gets to everybody. They will be as advertised, they’ll be talented and super athletic and they are physical, and it’ll be a good test for our young team.’’
The Profs (11-3-4, 4-2-2 NJAC), who are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, come into the game with a 3-0-3 record in their last six games.
TCNJ has been just as impressive with a 4-0-1 mark in its last five and has allowed just one goal over that stretch.
Making the playoffs for the first time since 2021 is a very positive step in the right direction for the Lions as they have only five seniors and are very young with 16 freshmen and sophomores.
DeMatteo admits to a little “quiet” optimism back when the season began in August.
“I had some quiet optimism in the beginning and I felt we were going to be better than people thought we were going to be,’’ recalled DeMatteo. “It’s a difficult conference and there’s a confidence that each team has.’’
The Lions were selected eighth in the preseason poll and were recognized as the dark horse in the conference.
Rowan, the defending champion, was the preseason favorite.
It’s no longer dark in talking about TCNJ as this young team came out strong and went 5-0-4 through the non-conference slate, then hit a rough patch and dropped three straight games. Now it’s looking to finishing strong.
TCNJ has won one Offensive Player of the Week honor, one Defensive Player of the Week honor and five Rookie of the Week honors.
Chris Meder, who has eight goals and leads the NJAC in assists, was the Offensive Player of the Week and Matt Maceri was the Defensive Player of the Week. Goalkeeper Sean Najdzinowicz has been a two-time Rookie of the Week. Matt Will, who has eight goals, has also been honored twice and goalkeeper Carson Dodd received one rookie honor.
It was after the first nine that the Lions first felt some adversity in losing three straight.
“We hit an interesting stretch of the season, and when conference play opened it’s hard to explain to a young team what conference play is going to be like,’’ said DeMatteo. “Then we hit Stockton, Montclair State and they are the top two teams in the league. Those games were good lessons learned.’’
The growth in this team has been impressive considering all the newcomers and the challenges it faced early on in the season.
“This team has grown so much,’’ stated DeMatteo. “We were trying to manage the emotions of losing those three games. The guys did a great job of learning from those situations, and we’re still learning and playing a lot of young guys. We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish, but we tell them all the time we have to keep chasing performance.’’
Meder, a junior from Cherokee, has four assists in the last four games and is tied with Will for the team lead in goals with eight.
“Chris is super competitive and a good person and growing into some leadership qualities,’’ said DeMatteo. “I’m really happy for him, he had figured out how to make big plays in big moments and I think that will continue and he has a good support cast around him.’’
Will, the freshman from Moorestown Friends, has scored a goal in each of the last three games.
“Matt is a very talented player,’’ said DeMatteo. “He’s a super dynamic and a confident player, in a good way. I don’t think he gets rattled by much, and Sean (Najdzinowicz) and Carson (Dodd) are both very good goaltenders and fortunate to have both of them.’’
Najdzinowicz has a 0.64 goals average and Dodd has an 0.83 GAA.
Clinching the playoff spot is a good start, and a win over Rowan would be some extra momentum heading to the conference playoffs.
