MIDDLESEX COLLEGE MENS SOCCER ADVANCES TO REGION 19 EAST DISTRICT A FINAL IN THRILLING FASHION

David Galvez converted the final Middlesex penalty kick in a shooutout after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer and Joe Tucker made a number of fantastic saves in goal as Middlesex College advanced to the NJCAA Region 19 District A Finals over RCSJ-Gloucester.

The game is officially ruled a tie with Middlesex advancing on penalty kicks, so the Colts record now stands at 8-3-4. They will face undefeated top-seed Camden CC with a trip to the NJCAA National Championship on the line on Friday at Ocean County College. Kickoff is set for 11:00AM.

The game against RCSJ-Gloucester proved to be a wild contest with both teams having multiple good scoring chances, but neither team was able to capitalize for a winning goal. RCSJ-Gloucester registered 25 shots while Middlesex had 19, but Tucker saved all nine shots he faced for Middlesex while Roadrunners goalie Diego Torres Eguiluz was equally impressive, stopping all eight Colts shots on goal.

After 90 scoreless minutes of regulation and two 10-minute scoreless overtime periods, the game went to penalty kicks to determine who would advance in the bracket.

For Middlesex, Andres Rojas, Ahmed Oshash, Oti Jara and Kenneth Garcia each converted the Colts first four penalty kicks. Because one RCSJ-Gloucester penalty sailed above the crossbar, it came down to Galvez for the clincher. Torres Eguiluz dove left, but Galvez buried his kick center-right and cleanly into the back of the net, setting off a wild celebration.

It marked the first time the Colts have advanced to the NJCAA Region 19 District Finals since 1994 and the first time in Middlesex College history that the men's and women's soccer programs advanced to the finals in the same year. The Middlesex women's team advanced by beating Bergen CC 6-0 earlier in the day.

With the win, the Colts will take on Region 19 regular season champion Camden CC, currently the #5 team in the country. The winner of that match will advance to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament which will be held at Genesee Community College in Batavia, New York from November 17-21.