Complete 2015 Schedule

2014 Results

NEWARK, N.J. (June 22, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer program officially released its 2015 schedule Monday afternoon.
 
The Scarlet Raiders, coming off the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship victory and the program's second-straight at-large berth to the tournament, will be eyeing another strong postseason run in 2015. R-N went 16-6-0 in 2014, including an excellent 7-2-0 mark in the hyper-competitive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).
 
"Our goal for the season is constant: position ourselves for postseason play based upon our regular season results," said Head Men's Soccer Coach Kevin East. "It's better to earn a bid after playing 20 games than trying to secure one in a two or three game tournament. Our schedule will do that for us if we get the results."

The Scarlet Raiders have 20 matches on the 2015 schedule starting with back-to-back non-conference home tilts against the United States Merchant Marine Academy and Brooklyn College September 1 and 2 on Alumni Field. R-N downed the Mariners 2-1 in 2014 but did not square off against the Bulldogs of Brooklyn.
 
Next on the slate will be back-to-back road matches against a pair of perennial NCAA Tournament teams in the University of Rochester (September 5) and SUNY Cortland (September 6). Both clubs are national powers year-in and year-out and will provide tough early-season tests for Rutgers away from the familiar confines of Alumni Field.
 
"Our non-conference schedule will be extremely demanding, especially early in the year," commented East. "We want to challenge ourselves and play national caliber programs in an effort to prepare for postseason play. The 2015 schedule accomplishes this goal without a doubt. Several of our opponents have NCAA Tournament experience and compete for their conference championships.  If we do well, our S.O.S should put us in contention for a NCAA bid."
 
Rutgers-Newark will close out a three-match road trip against John Jay College on September 9, before returning to Alumni Field for the Scarlet Raider Soccer Classic on September 12 and 13. R-N will take on New York University in the first match of the classic, and 2014 national tournament participant Johns Hopkins University the next day.
 
Mount Saint Mary College will visit Newark in what will be the team's final tune-up for NJAC play which begins at home September 19 against The College of New Jersey. In 2014, R-N defeated both squads by one goal on the road.
 
Two road matches are next, one at non-league foe St. Joseph's – L.I. and the other at NJAC rival Rowan University. The Scarlet Raiders played the two teams in the same order last season, winning by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 in Newark.
 
Home NJAC matches against Ramapo College and New Jersey City University are next on the ledger (September 30 and October 3), and road battles at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham (non-conference) and Stockton University (NJAC) follow. The Raiders went 4-0 against those teams in 2014, outscoring the four opponents 15-1 in the process.
 
William Paterson University will come to Newark on October 14 for an NJAC showdown, with the Scarlet Raiders travelling to Kean University on the 17th. Nearby Stevens Institute of Technology will visit for what could end up being a highly-anticipated in-state non-conference showdown on Alumni Field October 20, before big-time NJAC matches against Rutgers University-Camden and Montclair State University will close out the regular-season.
 
The Scarlet Raiders defeated Paterson by a score of 2-1 (2 OT) last year and will be looking to avenge a 3-2 (2 OT) loss at the hands of Kean. The Rutgers-Newark and Stevens match in 2014 was canceled because of bad weather, with the Scarlet Raiders splitting its final two NJAC meetings of the year in Camden and MSU. R-N was defeated 2-1 at Camden but won its final regular-season home battle of '14 against MSU.
 
"The NJAC is a premiere soccer conference in the country," added East. "Almost every year we have a handful of teams that crack the national rankings. All the coaches know that on any given day, anybody can beat anybody. The parity from 1-10 is what makes the conference so difficult."