NEWARK, N.J. (October 18, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team and Drew University played 110 minutes of soccer Wednesday night on Alumni Field, settling on a 2-2 draw.
Rutgers-Newark moves to 8-8-1 overall and will return to action Saturday night against Montclair State University at 7:30 p.m. Drew moves to 6-8-1 ahead of a visit to Catholic University.
R-N dominated the first half of play but the two teams went into the break tied at one apiece. Drew scored the first goal of the match as freshman Leah Dentale lofted a high-arching bid from the right corner, somehow sneaking it in the upper-left corner. It was the third tally of the season for Dentale with the assist going to junior Caroline Kelly.
The Scarlet Raiders – who controlled field position and possession for no less than 80 percent of the first half – immediately put the pressure back on, eventually finding the equalizer 11:07 after the Ranger tally. Senior
Nicole Gomez started the play with a corner, and after the initial rush ended, the ball found its way to senior
Sabrina Solorzano. Solorzano controlled inside the top-left corner of the box and touched to senior
Haley Savva in front who then flicked a shot up and in for her seventh of the season at 25:56.
R-N looked close to taking the lead on several occasions over the final 20 minutes of the period as junior
Juliana Ceballos had several excellent strikes, sophomore Iné Collins had a couple headers sail high and sophomore
Shayna Bohus had a good look denied by freshman goalkeeper Madison Dudziec.
The hosts ended the first half with a 12-5 margin in shots and a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
R-N maintained control of the field and the ball for the first 10-plus minutes of the first half, eventually taking the lead with a rocket from Gomez. Drew goalkeeper Brielle Castanheira – who took over to start the second half – broke up a play in front, vacating the goal. Sophomore
Samantha Richter was the first to the loose ball, playing it back to Gomez at the top of the box who deposited a bullet into the back of the net for her fifth of the season.
Drew would pull even with 18:09 left in regulation, making the most of its first shot of the second stanza as freshman Marissa McGaffney chipped in the first goal of her career.
After the Ranger marker, the entire pitch was used by both teams, with Drew pocketing the only strong chance late in the game but senior goalkeeper
Diana Carvalho tipped the attempt off the crossbar and out of bounds.
Drew was able to get two shots and two corners midway through the first overtime, and Bohus took a cross from Solorzano for the Raiders but the shot was blocked.
Rutgers-Newark held the advantage in the run of play over the final 10 minutes, and Ceballos had an attempt tipped off the crossbar by Castanheira with 25 seconds left but the two teams settled on the deadlock.
The Scarlet Raiders ended things with a 20-13 margin in shots and a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal, holding a slim 7-6 edge in corners as well. Carvalho made four saves for R-N, while the Drew goalkeepers combined for eight stops.
Prior to Saturday's game against the Red Hawks, Rutgers-Newark will be honoring its seniors as part of the annual Senior Day festivities. The ceremony is slated to begin at 7:15 p.m.
