WAYNE, N.J. (October 25, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team is in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the third time in four years. The Scarlet Raiders defeated William Paterson University, 1-0, Wednesday night in Wayne, and received the help they needed to earn the No. 6 seed in upcoming conference tournament.
The Scarlet Raiders will square off at third-seeded Montclair State University Saturday at 1 p.m. The Red Hawks topped R-N on October 21, but the last time the two teams met in the league tournament, the Scarlet Raiders upset MSU to advance to the NJAC semis for the first time in program history.
Scarlet Raider Head Caoch
Ariana Ruela was thrilled after the game, and happy with her team's season after a tough 2016.
"Quite a bounce-back season for us," she said. "Success isn't only about wins and losses but about determination and hard work. This team is living proof of that and we are really happy that determination and hard work resulted in a chance to play in the conference tournament."
The Scarlet Raiders and Pioneers battled throughout with the game-winner coming at 79:30 off the head of sophomore back Iné Collins via a corner off the foot of junior
Juliana Ceballos. Collins – who has been causing havoc on set pieces throughout the latter part of the season – found the back of the net for the third time and Ceballos picked up her eighth assist.
After the goal, the Scarlet Raider defense clamped down, and senior goalkeeper
Diana Carvalho was able to save the one shot she faced to clinch the victory.
Carvalho picked up the win and her second individual shutout of the season, and the Newark defense kept a clean sheet for the fourth time this year. Carvalho finished the match with seven saves.
Paterson ended the 90 minutes with a slight 15-11 edge in shots, a 7-3 margin in shots on goal and a 4-3 lead in corner kicks.
Rutgers-Newark took the first shot of the game, but William Paterson controlled field position for the balance of the first half, forcing Carvalho and several of her teammates to deny the Pioneers the early lead.
The Scarlet Raiders created some chances later in the half but the two sides went into the break tied 0-0. In half number two, the action was back-and-forth, and R-N hung tough long enough to get the huge road victory.
"Our team found it in them to dig deep and fight for the win today," added Ruela. "It was a great performance and a quality goal from Iné – an inspiration for the entire team to keep fighting."
Rutgers-Newark and Montclair State will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday and fans can expect a full preview of the match Friday afternoon at
www.RutgersNewarkAthletics.com.
