NEWARK, N.J. (September 28, 2016) – New Jersey City University defeated Rutgers University-Newark, 2-1, in overtime of a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) women's soccer match on Alumni Field Wednesday night.
 
The Gothic Knights scored the game-winner with 21 seconds left in the first overtime period as freshman Mallensy Vargas chased down a loose ball after a free kick from the top of the box and placed her shot in the upper-right corner for the win. It was Vargas' eighth goal of the season.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 1-8-2 overall and 0-3-0 in the NJAC, while NJCU moves to 4-3-1 overall and 1-2-0 in the conference.
 
Rutgers-Newark will look to get back into the win column Saturday night when the Scarlet Raiders host The College of New Jersey. Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. from Alumni Field.
 
It was the Scarlet Raiders controlling the early action, generating a corner and solid shot but struggling to find the back of net. The Gothic Knights were able to get several looks over the next few minutes and forced Rutgers-Newark goalkeeper Diana Carvalho to make saves at 6:56 and 12:05.
 
After several rips from sophomore Juliana Ceballos, junior Nicole Gomez received a pass and broke free from the NJCU defense, but senior Jubeth Buitrago slowed up Gomez and Gothic Knight goalkeeper Paula Viana made the save.
 
Ceballos would break the scoreless stalemate with her third goal of the year at 34:45, taking a down-the-middle through-ball from Gomez and drilling a perfect shot into the upper-right corner for the score.
 
The Scarlet Raider lead would be short-lived as NJCU tied the match at one a shade under seven minutes later on a nice individual effort from Vargas.
 
Rutgers-Newark had a great chance 14:25 into the second when Gomez's rip from the top of the box hammered the crossbar, and the rebound was deflected high by Viana.
 
Freshman Liliana Ventura had a strong chance in front for the Gothic Knights with 18:30 left in regulation, but Carvalho was up to the task in making the save.
 
Ceballos hammered another crossbar after Gomez slid her a pass at the top of the box with 4:49 on the clock, and a little more than a minute later, a Gomez free kick from the left wing deflected off the post and the two teams would head to overtime.
 
Despite the loss, Rutgers-Newark held a 22-9 margin in shots, a 10-6 edge in shots on goal and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Viana made nine saves for NJCU, while Carvalho was credited with four saves for the Scarlet Raiders.