NEWARK, N.J. (September 16, 2017) – Senior midfielder Carlos Castro scored on a picture-perfect cross from junior midfielder Breno Lustosa 25 seconds into the game and the sixth-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team never looked back in what ended up being a 2-0 shutout over Rutgers University-Camden in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener for both schools Saturday night.
 
The Scarlet Raiders improve to 6-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the NJAC, pushing their regular-season winning streak to an incredible 18 games. Amazingly, the streak spans exactly 365 days from September 17, 2016 to September 16, 2017.
 
Rutgers-Camden drops to 2-4-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the conference.
 
The shutout is the fifth in six games for Rutgers-Newark as it has now outscored the opposition 17-1 to start the season.
 
The Castro goal came before anyone could settle into their seats after starting lineups. Lustosa recieved a pass and took the ball into the right side of the box, waiting until the last possible second to cross the ball. His cross went from the right corner of the box, just off the endline, to the middle of the box where Castro was able to one-time his rip into the lower-left corner. The goal was the first of the year for Castro, and the assist was the first of the season for Lustosa.
 
R-N's second goal of the contest was another beauty, this one off the foot of senior Chigozie Atubi. On the play, the veteran forward controlled about 10 yards off the top-left of the penalty box, dribbling once towards the middle of the field and firing a rocket into the upper-right 90 for his third tally of the season. It came at 19:35 and essentially made the rest of the contest a formality.
 
From that point, Rutgers-Newark was in control. Sophomore goalkeeper Andres Medina made a pair of easy saves in the match, improving to 6-0-0 with his third individual clean sheet of the year.
 
Junior goalkeeper James Brett made four saves in the loss for Camden.
 
Rutgers-Newark ended the match with a 15-3 margin in shots and a 6-2 edge in shots on goal. Each side took four corners, with R-N controlling the ball and field position for the entirety of the first half before cruising in the second.
 
The last team that beat the Scarlet Raiders was the Scarlet Raptors back on September 17, 2016 in Camden. Since that point – 365 days ago – Rutgers-Newark has won 18-straight regular-season matches.
 
The six-straight wins to start the year for the Scarlet Raiders have been impressive and convincing to say the least. Rutgers-Newark has allowed opponents to put a grand total of 10 shots on goal and is allowing just 4.2 shots per game. The Raiders hold a 53-16 advantage in corners and have outshot foes 151-25.
 
Next up for the Scarlet Raiders will be a non-conference matchup against Mount Saint Mary College Monday night on Alumni Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
 
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