POMONA, NJ – Rutgers-Newark battled heavily-favored Richard Stockton deep into the second half before falling, 3-1, in the Scarlet Raiders' final match of the season.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Freshman midfielder Alex Nata's unassisted goal in the 55th minute tied the contest at 1-1, but the Ospreys got markers from Kiera Hines in the 79th minute and Briana Fischer in the 86th to spoil the Scarlet Raiders' upset bid.

Junior goalkeeper Kat Renteria made 11 saves to keep the Raiders in the fray while her counterpart Sarah Hinkle made four of her six save in the second period. Stockton controlled shots, 23-10.

Nata, junior midfielder Liana Abreu and senior forward Karen Johnson each had two shots on goal.

Rutgers-Newark (6-10-3, NJAC 2-5-2) carried hopes of an NJAC Championship Tournament berth into the final league date for the first time in the program's 11-year history, but even a win over Stockton would not have mattered. Road wins by Kean over William Paterson and New Jersey City over Rutgers-Camden earlier in the day had ended that dream.

First-year head coach Bill Bustamante loses only Johnson and tri-captain Angela Neves off of this year's roster, buoying hopes that the Raiders will challenge for post-season play in 2011.