NEWARK, N.J. (October 3, 2015) – Senior Cristina Estremera recorded her second hat trick of the season to lead the Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team to a 5-1 win over New Jersey City University Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
 
The match – originally scheduled to played at NJCU – was moved to Rutgers-Newark and Estremera made the most of it, continuing a torrid scoring streak in home matches. The veteran midfielder who now has eight goals, four assists and 20 points this season, has registered all eight tallies in four games at home. She scored three in the home-opener against the College of Staten Island, one against Old Westbury, one against Rowan University and three more Saturday.
 
With the victory, the Scarlet Raiders improve to 10-3-0 overall and 2-2-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. NJCU drops to 3-6-1 overall and 0-4-0 in conference play.
 
Rutgers-Newark dominated from start-to-finish, scoring three goals early and two more late, finishing with a 27-2 edge in shots and an 8-1 margin in corners. Sophomore goalkeeper Diana Carvalho earned her 10th win in goal, making one save in a little over 70 minutes of action.
 
The Scarlet Raiders will return to action on Monday when they host Mount Saint Mary College in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. R-N will return to NJAC action on Saturday night in Newark against Richard Stockton.
 
Estremera opened the scoring with markers 2:28 apart, the first coming at 6:14 and the second at 8:42. On the first, sophomore Nicole Gomez delivered a precision feed to Estremera who broke through the defense and calmly put her bid into the lower-right for the score. Gomez was credited with her team-high sixth assist on the play.
 
Senior Sara Corson secured her second assist of the season on the second R-N goal. The veteran found a way to get the ball to Estremera while her back was to the goal, setting up her classmate for an easy tally.
 
The Raiders picked up their third marker in less than 20 minutes when freshman Juliana Ceballos found Gomez for her first goal of the year and first as a Scarlet Raider. In the middle of the field, Ceballos timed her pass perfectly, splitting the defense with a through-ball and hitting Gomez in stride.
 
The early parts of the second half saw Rutgers-Newark constantly knocking on the door but struggling to finish, peppering NJCU goalkeeper Cassie Lubonski with shot after shot. Lubonski ended the afternoon with 14 saves.
 
The Gothic Knights scored at 70:58 to pull within two when freshman back Odelia Cordova recorded her first of the season. That marker seemed to light a fire under the Scarlet Raiders who would score twice late after applying constant pressure.
 
Estremera's hat trick came at 85:16, taking a pass from Ceballos and putting her shot inside the far post while being dragged to the ground. Ceballos scored her fourth of the year with 2:28 remaining, corralling a rebound and beating several defenders before scoring. She finished the match with four points on the back of one goal and two assists in a very strong performance.