PAEZ, HIDALGO KEY MIDDLESEX MENS SOCCER IN 2-1 WIN OVER RCSJ-GLOUCESTER

Cesar Paez scored his first collegiate goal at the close of the first half to give Middlesex a one goal lead and goalie Jhan Paul Hidalgo made the lead stand with a strong second half as the Colts topped RCSJ-Gloucester 2-1 in an important early season Men's Soccer matchup.

RCSJ-Gloucester was the defending Region 19 District B champion and had started the season ranked #8 in the NJCAA preseason poll. The Colts are now 2-0 on the young season.

Middlesex got on the board first when Ahmed Oshash (Sophomore/Dunellen, NJ) blasted a beautiful shot from distance, beating the Roadrunners keeper to the far corner in the 25^th minute. Andres Rojas (Freshman/Elizabeth, NJ) assisted on the play.

Buoyed by the lead, Middlesex controlled play for much of the rest of the half, but RCSJ-Gloucester found the equalizer on a scrum in front of the net as Angel Collazo rolled a shot past Hidalgo to tie the game 1-1 in the 40^th minute.

With the half winding down, the Colts kept pressuring the Roadrunners and eventually broke through when Paez broke away from a defender and converted a pass from Oshash to send Middlesex to the half with a 2-1 lead.

From there, the story of the game was Hidalgo and the Middlesex defense. The sophomore keeper made multiple key saves in the second half as the Colts withstood pressure to hang on to their slim margin.

RCSJ-Gloucester outshot Middlesex 19-9 but only ten of the Roadrunners shots were on goal. Hidalgo had nine saves for Middlesex.

Middlesex travels to Brookdale to take on the Jersey Blues on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 12:30PM.