NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark got goals 1:19 apart in the second half and rode the goalkeeping of junior Jonathan Frances to a 3-2 New Jersey Athletic Conference win over The College of New Jersey on Alumni Field.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY 

Senior forward Richie Villamar fired in a penalty kick with 15:02 left to break a 1-1 tie before junior midfielder Nick Kyprianou hammered a free kick from 30 yards out on the left side off the bottom of the crossbar with 13:43 remaining to boost the Scarlet Raiders (7-4-0, NJAC 2-2-0) into a 3-1 lead.

But the Lions (4-5-2, NJAC 0-3-2) drew to within a goal when freshman midfielder Kevin McCarthy collected a loose ball about 30 yards out on the left side and sent a shot that caromed off the crossbar and right post into the opposite side of the net with 9:48 left.

TCNJ had five chances to pull even in the final eight minutes, but Frances made three of his six saves and his defensive teammates blocked two shots to preserve the tenuous margin.

Frances dove left to stop a penalty kick by junior defender Vince McEnroe in the 72nd minute to keep the match even before the Raiders' 2-goal explosion.

The teams battled to a 1-1 deadlock at the half with Raider freshman forward Patryck Dawidczyk putting away a loose ball in the 19th minute before Lion senior forward Ed Kozic fired in a shot off of a loose ball less than a minute later.

TCNJ held a 24-14 edge in shots and controlled corner kicks, 6-1.  But Frances proved to be the difference as Lion junior goalkeeper Adam Freidman was able to make just one second-half save against three goals allowed.

Rutgers-Newark host Medgar Evers in a non-conference match on Alumni Field on Monday at 7:30 p.m.