Bracket | Championship Info Live Stats NEWARK, N.J. (October 30, 2015) – The sixth-seeded Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team will visit third-seeded and 23rd-ranked Montclair State University in the opening round of the 2015 New Jersey Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship Tournament Saturday at MSU Soccer Park. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m.
The Scarlet Raiders and Red Hawks will be squaring off for the second time in four days, as the two teams met in the regular-season finale Wednesday night at Alumni Field in Newark, with the Red Hawks earning a 1-0 win.
The winner of Saturday's match will take on second-seeded The College of New Jersey in the semifinals on Tuesday, November 3 at Lions Stadium in Ewing. Fourth-seeded Kean University and fifth-seeded Stockton University will square off in the other opening round match, with the winner battling top-seeded Rowan University. The NJAC Championship match is slated for November 6 at the highest seed.
Montclair St. is the defending conference champ and has won two of the last three titles. Second-seeded TCNJ took the NJAC Championship and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.
Rutgers-Newark earned the sixth seed with a conference record of 3-5-1, getting wins over Ramapo College, New Jersey City University and William Paterson University. The Scarlet Raiders earned a 1-1 draw against Stockton.
"This season, the NJAC has been the most competitive I have seen it in my three years with the program," Scarlet Raider Head Coach
Ariana Ruela said. "We are thrilled to have made the playoffs for the second time in our history, but this year just making it isn't good enough for our team. I am excited to see what we bring Saturday."
R-N Stats | R-N Schedule/Results R-N has been led offensively by the senior pairing of
Sara Corson and
Cristina Estremera. Corson has 19 goals and 40 total points, leading the conference in both categories, and checking in third in the nation with eight game-winning goals. Estremera has 24 points on the back of nine goals and six assists, scoring two game-winners. Newcomer
Nicole Gomez – a sophomore – leads the team in assists with seven, and sophomore
Diana Carvalho has been solid in goal, making 77 saves in 19 starts and compiling a record of 12-6-1.
Rutgers-Newark has pitched five shutouts as a team and has a plus-14 goal differential (41-27). The Raiders have put 44 more shots on target than their opponents (156-112), also generating 25 more corners. Boasting a regular-season record-tying 12 victories this season (12-7-1), Rutgers-Newark is 8-2-0 away from Alumni Field this year (4-4-1 at home).
MSU Stats | MSU Schedule/Results The Red Hawks are 14-2-2 overall and went 6-1-2 in the conference. Montclair has won its last five outings and is unbeaten in seven matches since a 2-0 loss at TCNJ on October 3. The Scarlet Raiders will have to crack a tough defense that has allowed just eight goals against all season and just three in conference contests. Offensively, MSU has four players that have recorded double-digit points in Tyler Madison (19), Martina Landeka (18), Jennie Hornstra (14) and Shawna Grabowski (12). Starting goalkeeper Erinne Finlayson has made 23 saves in 11 outings this season (10 starts), tallying eight shutouts.
Tickets for Saturday's game at MSU Soccer Park are $5 for adults and $2 for children, and fans unable to make the trip to Montclair can follow live stats via links at
www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.
