WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark senior forward Liana Abreu netted her 21st goal of the season, but William Paterson took a 3-1 New Jersey Athletic Conference victory in the Pioneer Soccer Park.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Abreu beat a defender and fired a shot into the upper right corner of the net with just 2:29 remaining to bring her to within a goal of the Scarlet Raider single-season record, but the Pioneers  (5-7-1, NJAC 2-5-1) knocked Rutgers-Newark (4-14-0, NJAC 0-7-0) out of contention for one of six NJAC Championship Tournament berths.

The Scarlet Raiders stayed in the fray until the final minutes, holding the Pioneers scoreless during the opening half and yielding just one goal during the first 84 minutes of the contest.  But a 19-4 disadvantage in shots and a 12-1 deficit in corner kicks eventually spelled the end for the Raiders.

WPU junior midfielder Laela Brock scored on a breakaway goal just 44 seconds into the second period, but freshman goalkeeper Victoria Nunez made seven saves to keep Rutgers-Newark in the fray.

Senior forward Sophie Hart-Ruderman had a hand in goals just 1:31 apart to break open the contest.  First she set up what proved to be the winning goal by junior forward Michelle Marabondo in the 85th minute before scoring an insurance goal off of a feed from senior forward Megan Droelle made it 3-0.

Abreu, sophomore defender Vanessa Rivera and freshman midfielder Valentina Palchetti put shots on goal for the Raiders.

Abreu needs a goal in Wednesday's Senior Night season finale against NJAC foe Richard Stockton to tie Julia Caseres' 2008 record of 22 goals in a season.  Match time is 7:30 on Alumni Field as Abreu, Stefani Uthman and Danielle Griscom.