Box Score BABSON PARK, Mass.-Sophomore
Charlie O'Connell scored the go-ahead goal in the 66
th minute and senior
Raphael Araujo tacked on an insurance marker in the closing seconds as Rutgers University-Newark defeated Babson College, 2-0, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Saturday afternoon on Hartwell-Rogers Field.
With the program's first NCAA Tournament victory, Rutgers-Newark advances to Sunday's second round match where it will take on Cortland State, a 3-0 winner over Neumann University in the second match of the day. Babson, which entered the NCAA championship having won six games in a row and 10 of its last 11 overall, sees its season come to a close at 17-6-0.
After pressuring the Beavers throughout the early portion of the second half the Scarlet Raiders finally broke through on O'Connell's 14
th tally of the season at the 65:22 mark. Following a foul just inside of midfield, senior
Pat Holliday lofted a free kick into the box for O'Connell, who flicked a header just past the outstretched hands of Babson junior goalkeeper Stephen Donato and inside the right post for a 1-0 edge.
The strike came after Donato had denied multiple Rutgers-Newark chances in the first 20 minutes of the stanza. He made a sprawling save to deny Holliday's bid from just outside the box in the 48
th minute, and then made stops on both McConnell and fellow
Hubert Dul.
The Green and White nearly leveled the score less than a minute after O'Connell's goal as senior Justin Laurenzo's blast off feed from first-year Christopher Doire was punched out of danger with a tremendous stop by Scarlet Raiders junior goalkeeper
Matt Broomall. The Beavers also had back-to-back shots by senior Dillon Ventura and first-year Justin Kaplan blocked down by Rutgers-Newark defenders in the 77
th minute following a corner kick.
Araujo ended Babson's comeback hopes for good with his 90
th-minute strike, burying his shot past the charging Donato and inside the left post. It was the 19
th marker of the season.
The sides combined for nine first-half shots, but the only two on frame came from Babson. Broomall made a pair of saves, including his best of the day to deny a bending attempt from the edge of the 18-yard box that was headed inside the right post in the 15
th minute.
Broomall made four saves to extend his Rutgers-Newark career record for shutouts to 18 and up his total for the season to five. It was the eighth blanking of an opponent by the Raiders this year.
After a hard-fought opening period, the Scarlet Raiders dominated the second half. Rutgers-Newark out-shot the Beavers 14-8 in the second half, forcing Donato to make all five of his saves.
The Red Dragons (15-4-1) dominated play against Neumann (10-9-2), out-shooting the team from Pennsylvania, 22-5.
It will be the first meeting between the men's soccer programs at Rutgers-Newark and Cortland in history.
