NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark got second-half goals from junior midfielder Liana Abreu, freshmen Alex Nata and sophomore Thalia Sanchez to spurt past New Jersey City, 3-1, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match on Alumni Field.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Junior goalkeeper Kat Renteria made four saves as the Scarlet Raiders (5-7-3, NJAC 2-2-2) out-shot the Gothic Knights (9-5-0, NJAC 2-4-0), 24-14.

NJCU carried a 1-0 lead into the half after freshman midfielder Alexis Frees fired a shot into the right side of the goal after a crisp cross from the right side by junior midfielder Julia Caseres at 40:29.

After NJCU took first five shots of the contest, Abreu finally pulled trigger on the Raiders' first try with 14:52 gone. Frees' goal boosted the Gothic Knights ahead, but Rutgers-Newark finished the opening half with a 12-8 edge in shots and forced NJCU junior goalkeeper Laura Robinson to make half of her six saves.

Nata leveled the score when she gathered a loose ball from 25 yards out on the right side and curled a shot that crossed the goal mouth into the left side against a stunned Robinson less than three minutes into the final period.

The tie held up until the 73rd minute when Abreu beat Robinson and three other players to a loose ball bouncing near the 18. Abreu chipped the ball over a diving Robinson and watched from the ground as it bounced into the open goal for her ninth marker of the season and her first game winner of the year.

The icing goal came in the 80th minute when senior midfielder Angela Neves picked up a ball near the middle of the field and raced past Gothic Knight defenders to the right side on the dribble. She punched the ball forward to Sanchez near the right corner of the box. Sanchez put her shot inside the right post to give Rutgers-Newark some breathing room.

Key to the win was the defensive work led by juniors Jessica Gavilanes and Camelia Valentin, sophomore Elizabeth Infante and freshman Vanessa Rivera. The group throttled Caseres, the NJAC's leading scorer.

Renteria capped the victory by making a spectacular diving save to thwart a Caseres point-blank shot with just 13 seconds left.

The win snapped a five-match non-winning streak for the Raiders and kept the young team in the race for one of six NJAC Championship Tournament berths.

Rutgers-Newark visits Rowan for another NJAC tilt on Saturday at 5 p.m.