NEWARK, N.J. (September 13, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team earned a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime victory over Johns Hopkins University Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field in the finale of the 2015 Scarlet Raider Soccer Classic.
 
In the 105th minute of action, the Scarlet Raiders scored the game-winner on a gorgeous header from junior forward Charlie O'Connell. After a rip from 25 yards out by junior Anthony DeRisi, junior Dylan Elias chased the deflection down in the corner. He then crossed in front to O'Connell who was on the right post for a perfectly-placed header into the upper-left 90. It was the second score of the season for O'Connell and second assist for Elias.
 
With the win, Rutgers-Newark improves to 5-2-0 overall. The Scarlet Raiders have now won four-straight. Hopkins suffers its second defeat of the season, dropping to 3-2-1 overall.
 
By virtue of two wins (six points), R-N also won the tournament, with sophomore midfielder Arek Szoldrowski being named the Most Valuable Player after an excellent all-around performance.
 
"Our guys played some good soccer against two difficult opponents and found a way to get a positive result each day," said Head Men's Soccer Coach Kevin East. "I give our guys a lot of credit. We have played seven games in 14 days against strong opposition and have come out of it with positive results for the most part."
 
The 104-plus minutes of action before the game-winner saw outstanding action from each side. Rutgers-Newark controlled field position and possession for the majority of the match, holding a 26-10 advantage in shots and a 12-9 margin in corners. Hopkins did play well, forcing senior goalkeeper Matt Broomall to make four fully-extended outstanding saves (five overall) to give his team a chance to win.
 
JHU goalkeeper Bryan See was also able to thwart many Scarlet Raider chances, stopping four 1-on-1 chances and making several other nice plays. See finished with 13 saves.
 
Johns Hopkins was able to take the lead (1-0) 2:22 into the second half after a corner kick. The service came hard into the box and eluded Broomall. A scrum in front ensued and senior back Kevin Caskey found a way to knock it in.
 
After the goal, R-N generated a flurry of offensive opportunities, creating a 1-on-1 that was broken up, two corners and two shots that See had to save.
 
Rutgers-Newark would pull even at 85:41 when sophomore forward Chigozie Atubi scored for the fifth time this season on an assist from freshman Damjan Agaj. Agaj took a corner and received a carom back outside the box on the left sideline. He controlled and hit a low cross that found Atubi for a strike from the right side of the box that went into the lower-left corner of the goal.
 
The Scarlet Raiders out-shot Hopkins 6-1 in the first overtime but could not find the back of the net as See made two saves, one shot glanced off the crossbar and another bid was kept out of the goal by a Blue Jay defender.
 
"I believe we are getting a little bit better each time we play and confidence is growing," added East. "We aren't a finished product, but I am happy with our progress. I think in college soccer it takes a few weeks for teams to find themselves and we are doing that."
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to action Wednesday evening (5 p.m.) when it hosts Mount Saint Mary College on Alumni Field. The match will be the first of 2015 Soccer Fest.