NEWARK, N.J. (October 1, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team hung tough against nationally-ranked No. 19 The College of New Jersey Saturday night, falling by a score of 3-0 on Alumni Field.
 
The Scarlet Raiders fall to 1-9-2 overall and 0-4-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, while the Lions move to 8-0-1 overall and 4-0-0 in the league.
 
Despite the loss, Rutgers-Newark fought incredibly hard for the entire 90 minutes and played very well defensively throughout.
 
"Against a quality team like TCNJ, I felt our girls absorbed their offense rather well, staying compact and organized," said Head Coach Ariana Ruela. "We played tough and battled it out until the final whistle, and that is all I can ever ask."
 
Junior goalkeeper Diana Carvalho made two saves on header's in the first 15 minutes of the match, keeping the explosive Lions off the scoreboard.
 
TCNJ would take a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick after a Lion was knocked down in the top-right of the box. Junior Jessica Goldman converted for the guests, pocketing her fourth goal of the season.
 
The two sides would head to intermission with the score staying 1-0 in favor of the Lions who ended the period with an 8-0 edge in shots and a 5-0 margin in corners.
 
TCNJ hit two posts early in the second half and Carvalho had back-to-back denials moments later, but the Lions struck again with 35:48 left. Senior Lauren Malajian chipped in a shot off the bottom of the crossbar thanks to an assist from junior Elizabeth Thoresen.
 
The final Lion score of the night came from Hannah Richman who snuck in a shot from 35 yards out into the lower-left corner of the cage for her fourth marker of the year at 80:08.
 
TCNJ ended the match with an 11-0 edge in corners and a 24-0 lead in shots.
 
Carvalho made nine saves in 73:18 minutes of action, with freshman Heidi Paulson making one stop in 16:42.
 
The entire Scarlet Raiders defense and midfield played tough under consistent pressure from a talented Lion squad. Junior Nicole Gomez, senor Victoria Benet, junior Angelika Barris, junior Allyson Daly, freshman Ine Collins, sophomore Melissa Chaquea and senior Raquel DaCosta were just a few who made plays for R-N.
 
Senior Jessica Weeder earned the shutout win in goal for TCNJ as the Lions blanked their sixth-straight opponent and have yet to allow a goal against in conference play.
 
Rutgers-Newark will travel to Stockton University next Saturday afternoon for an NJAC match against the Ospreys.