NEWARK, NJ – Freshman midfielder Estiven Benetiz (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills HS) tallied two of Rutgers-Newark's four second-half goals as the Scarlet Raiders opened the Kevin East coaching era with a hard-fought 4-3 win over SUNY Maritime.

NCAA BOX SCORE

Junior midfielder Marin Gjoca (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) broke the third tie of the match on a crossing pass to the right side of the goal by junior forward Aderson Cenoble (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) with just 17:39 remaining, and the Raiders survived a couple of late scares to win the season opener.

Freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Frances (Chandler, AZ/Hamilton) made five of his six saves in the opening period when the Privateers gained a 1-0 lead on a put-back goal by freshman midfielder Eric Mittermeier (Pomona, NY).

Benetiz evened the score in the opening minutes of the second half, picking off an errant Maritime pass, before freshman forward Jason Laing (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) gathered the deflection of a restart kick by junior midfielder Daniel Mezzina (Union City, NJ/Emerson) and fired a goal into the right side for a 2-1 Raider lead in the 51st minute.

Privateer freshman midfielder Patrick Masango then sandwiched goals around another tally by Benetiz to make it 3-3 in the 70th minute, and set the stage for Gjoca's game-winning goal.

Maritime senior goalkeeper Matt Kavanaugh (Penfield, NY/Penfield) made seven saves.

Rutgers-Newark will be back in action on Wednesday on Alumni Field hosting Soccer Fest 2007. The Raider women and men will take on CCNY in a “return to campus” celebration for students. The women play at 4 p.m. with the men to follow at 7 o'clock.