NEWARK, N.J. – The only thing between Rutgers University-Newark and its second straight trip to the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship match is three-time defending league champion Rutgers University-Camden.
 
NJAC Men's Soccer Championship Bracket (PDF)
 
The sister institutions square off under the lights of Alumni Field Tuesday at 7:30 with a berth in Friday's finals in the balance.  Montclair State hosts fourth-seeded Kean at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the other semifinal match up.  The winners advance to the title game at the home site of the highest surviving seed.
 
The second-seeded Scarlet Raiders (15-4-0) fell to the third-seeded Scarlet Raptors (13-7-1), 2-1, in the RUC Community Park on October 25 before upending conference regular-season champion Montclair State (15-4-0) by the same score on Wednesday to earn a first-round bye in 6-team playoff.
 
Last November, Rutgers-Newark advanced to the conference championship contest for the first time in program history but fell to a Rutgers-Camden team that went all the way to the NCAA D-III Championship match before falling.  Combined with a 4-3 overtime win over the Raiders during the regular season last September, the Raptors have reeled off three consecutive wins in the series following a 1-0 Raider upset over Rutgers-Camden in Camden in September of 2012.
 
The Raptors needed an overtime goal in Saturday's NJAC opening round to subdue fifth-seeded Richard Stockton, 1-0, while No. 4 Kean notched a 1-0 decision over sixth-seeded William Paterson as the bracket held up on the opening day.
 
Tickets for Tuesday night are $5 general admission and $2 for senior citizens, students and children under the age of 12.