MAHWAH, N.J. (October 11, 2017) – Despite holding Ramapo College without a single shot for nearly 55 minutes of match time, the Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team suffered a hard-luck 1-0 loss Wednesday afternoon in Mahwah at the hands of the Roadrunners.
 
The Scarlet Raiders drop to 8-7-0 overall and 2-4-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), while Ramapo moves to 4-8-0 overall and 2-4-0 in league play. Rutgers-Newark will return to the pitch Saturday night when it hosts Rowan University in another key NJAC matchup. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. from Alumni Field.
 
The two sides played a scoreless first half with the Scarlet Raiders maintaining advantages in field position and possession over the opening 45 minutes. Each side took five total shots and put two on target, but it was the guests generating 4-of-5 corners in the opening period.
 
R-N held a distinct edge in play in the final 20-or-so minutes of the stanza, holding the Roadrunners without a single shot or corner kick from 23:41 on.
 
The Scarlet Raiders came out of the intermission pressing the Roadrunners, getting off three shots and a corner kick in the first five minutes. Newark kept the pressure on, but could not break through as Roadrunner goalkeeper Elizabeth Harvell hung tough.
 
The hosts would break through first, scoring on their first attempt since 23:41. A foul on the Raiders deep in the Ramapo zone allowed a clearance to midfield, and a through-ball from Liliann Vizcaino hit a streaking Gabrielle Gentilucci for the goal at 78:15.
 
Rutgers-Newark – who had been dominating the action – quickly countered with an on-target shot from junior Juliana Ceballos and a corner.
 
A long ball and cross from Ramapo forced Scarlet Raider senior goalkeeper Diana Carvalho to make a lunging save to keep her squad within one. Unfortunately, Rutgers-Newark was unable to break through, eventually falling by the one-goal margin.
 
Each team totaled five shots on target, with R-N ending the match with a 13-8 margin in total attempts and an 8-1 edge in corners.
 
Ceballos (five) and senior Haley Savva (two) led the Scarlet Raiders in shots with eight different players getting off at least one attempt in the match.
 
Fans unable to get to the Brick City for Saturday night's match against Rowan can tune in live at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/watch.