NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark roared back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to post a 3-2 New Jersey Athletic Conference win over New Jersey City on Alumni Field.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

In a lop-sided second half, the Scarlet Raiders (3-11-1, NJAC 1-4-1) out-shot the visiting Gothic Knights (5-7-2, NJAC 1-4-0), 14-5, capped by freshman forward Cristina Estremera's game winning tally with just 1:25 left.

Estremera netted her fifth goal of the year after taking a through pass from junior midfielder Renae McEvoy on the right side, dibbling to the right edge of the box and firing a shot that glanced past NJCU sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Hoffman into the right side of the net.

Rutgers-Newark got on the board in the 57th minute when Hoffman and a Gothic Knight defender collided in the box on a crossing pass.  Sophomore forward Sarah Cunha gathered the loose ball and put the goal into the open net.

In the 70th minute, McEvoy picked up a loose ball on a defensive clear in front of the box and knotted the score with a shot into the right side.

The Gothic Knights led at the half after freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Lima fired a shot off of Raider sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Nunez, gathered the ball near the left edge of the box and put the ball inside the left post 11:59 into the fray.

Lima delivered a perfectly place corner kick from the left side in the 31st minute that sophomore midfielder Olympia Sciortino headed into the middle of the net.

Hoffman kept the score close by stopping three Raider breakaways in the second half.  In the 62nd minute, she forced Estremera wide on a breakaway try from the right side as the attempt glanced off the right post.  Hoffman also made diving saves to stop breakaways by Cunha in the 79th minute and Estremera in the 82nd.

Defenders Margeaux Hedley, Alexis Sutton, Diana Catarino and Janelle Vega helped stall the Gothic Knight attack in the second half.

Nunez (1-0-0), who was playing in place of injured freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Benoit, made five saves to post her first win of the season while Hoffman finished with a dozen saves for NJCU.

The Raiders led the Gothic Knights in shots, 24-14, and corner kicks, 5-2.

It was the second straight win for the Raiders.

Rutgers-Newark travels to Rowan on Saturday for a 1 p.m. NJAC match.