NEWARK, N.J. (September 19, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team saw its six-match winning streak come to an end in a tough non-conference loss to Salisbury University, 2-1. The Scarlet Raiders move to 6-2 on the season while the Sea Gulls improve to 2-6.

On Saturday, R-N has its New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) home opener when they take on Kean University at 7:30 p.m. under the lights. There will be limited edition fidget spinners as well as t-shirts given away to the first fans who make it out to Alumni Field.

After a slightly delayed start, both teams got off to a bit of a sluggish beginning due to slick turf and a fast playing surface. Still, in the 14^th minute, the visitors broke through first. A quick counterattack culminated in a through ball from sophomore Dana Gordon that put senior Ruthie Lucas behind the defense in a golden position. Lucas made no mistake, slotting her shot to the right of the keeper to make it 1-0.

The Scarlet Raiders would get their bearings later in the opening period as they would earn an 8-2 edge in shots and create a fantastic opportunity off a corner. Junior Juliana Ceballos hit an outswinging ball from the right flag that found a charging sophomore Deirdre Mackin who's left-footed volley sailed just high. A few minutes later, Rutgers-Newark earned a free kick a hair outside the 18-yard box on the left hand side. Ceballos stepped over the ball and drilled a beautiful, curling shot over the wall but her effort hit the crossbar to keep the score at 1-0 in favor of the visitors headed into the break.

In the second half, the Scarlet Raiders kept the pressure on and it did not take long for them to even the score. Ceballos took a corner from the right side in the 52^nd minute and sent an inswinger towards the edge of the six-yard box. Sophomore Samantha Richter was there to meet the ball and head it past the goalie to even the score at 1-1.

Unfortunately, the deadlock would not last as the visitors began a flurry of attacks that eventually paid off. A shot that was saved created a deadly loose ball in the penalty area and Salisbury's Lucas was there first to poke home her second of the match in the 64^th minute.

The Sea Gulls continued to press forward after regaining the lead as sophomore Heidi Paulson was called into action to make several huge stops that kept the home team in the contest. While the Scarlet Raiders kept the ball in the visitors' half in the waning moments they could not find a clear opportunity to equalize.

Richter led R-N with her second goal of the season while Ceballos notched her team-best seventh assist.

Salisbury rookie netminder Emma Hill made four saves to earn her first collegiate victory. The Scarlet Raiders' senior goalie Diana Carvalho had five stops while Paulson made an additional three in relief.