Live Stats | Live Video
Tournament Bracket | Tournament Central
Game Program
NEWARK, N.J. (October 31, 2017) – The nationally-ranked and second-seeded Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team will begin postseason play Wednesday night in front of its home crowd in Newark, hosting Montclair State University in the semifinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. Kickoff from Alumni Field is set 7:30 p.m.
The Scarlet Raiders are ranked 12th according to D3soccer.com and will bring an overall record of 18-2-0 into Wednesday's game against the Red Hawks. Rutgers-Newark earned a bye in the opening round of the tournament via an 8-1-0 ledger in league play.
Montclair State is in the NJAC semis after a comeback overtime win against William Paterson University Saturday. The Red Hawks are 13-6-1 overall and the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Wednesday's winner will play Saturday for the conference title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament against the winner of top-seeded Rowan University and fifth-seeded Stockton University. Saturday's match will be played at the tournament's highest remaining seed.
The Scarlet Raiders and Montclair State met in the regular season in Montclair and Rutgers-Newark walked away with a 2-0 shutout. It was just the third time since 1983 R-N left with a road triumph against the Red Hawks.
The two sides met in last season's NJAC semis with the Red Hawks topping Newark en route to the conference crown.
MSU Stats | MSU Schedule
Freshman Chaz Burnett, senior Mike Taranto and junior Rafael Terci all have 10 or more goals for the Red Hawks, with Burnett and Taranto tying for the team lead with 27 points. Montclair has gone 3-2-0 over its last five matches, taking victories over Paterson twice and Alfred University.
Junior Mike Saalfrank has done most of the goalkeeper duties for MSU, compiling a record of 12-6-1 with six shutouts and a 1.32 goals-against average in 19 starts.
Rutgers-Newark Stats | Rutgers-Newark Schedule
Rutgers-Newark has won three-straight games since a 1-0 overtime loss at Rowan back on October 14. During that span, R-N has outscored the opposition 10-2, tallying two shutouts and scoring six goals in its last match against William Paterson – a 6-2 rout.
The Scarlet Raiders boast a plus-46 goal differnial on the season, and will put a sparkling 10-0-0 mark on Alumni Field on the line.
The R-N defense has been superb all season long, ranking tops in the NJAC in goals-against average (.443) and shutout percentage (,650), racking up 13 clean sheets in total this season. Sophomore goalkeeper
Andres Medina leads the league in save percentage and is third in the entire nation in shutouts, and he sits second in the conference and fourth nationally in minutes played.
Sophomore
Fabio De Sousa leads a quick-striking and talented offense, pacing the NJAC in goals per game (.85), total goals (17) and total points (40). De Sousa is one of three players with at least 20 points for Rutgers-Newark as seniors
Chigozie Atubi (eight goals, four assists) and
Hubert Dul (six goals, eight assists) have been masterful as well. Junior
Stefano Muniz and freshman
Ariel Parada each have double-digit points, while a total of 22 Rutgers-Newark players have at least one this year.
Tickets to the NJAC Tournament Wednesday night are $5 for adults and $2 for students, children and seniors.
Anyone with a Rutgers-Newark ID will get into the game for free and fans are encouraged to arrive early.
How they stack up...
| Rutgers-Newark |
Stat |
Montclair State |
| 20 |
Games Played |
20 |
| 2.75 GPG |
Scoring Offense |
3.15 GPG |
| .45 GPG |
Scoring Defense |
1.25 GPG |
| Plus-2.30 GPG |
Scoring Margin |
Plus-1.9 GPG |
| 205 (of 439) |
Shots on Goal |
162 (of 363) |
| 79 (of 199) |
Shots on Goal Against |
104 (of 239) |
| 136 |
Corners |
101 |
| 56 |
Corners Against |
72 |
| .885 |
Save Percentage |
.760 |
| 4-1-0 |
Last 5 |
3-2-0 |
Follow @ScarletRaiders and @RUN_Soc on twitter for the entire postseason!
