READING, Pa. (September 20, 2017) – The nationally-ranked No. 4 Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team improved to 8-0-0 on the season with a 3-0 non-league shutout at Albright College Wednesday night in Reading, Pa.
The win is the 20th-straight regular-season triumph for the Scarlet Raiders who will return to New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play Saturday afternoon at Kean University.
Albright drops to 1-6-1 in defeat.
The Scarlet Raiders took a 1-0 lead late in the first half when sophomore
Fabio De Sousa converted a penalty kick into his sixth goal of the season. The tally came at 40:58 and made it eight-straight matches Rutgers-Newark has struck first.
As has been the case all season, the Scarlet Raider defense was suffocating, holding Albright without a single shot for the last 27 minutes of the first half. R-N ended the opening 45 minutes with a 13-4 edge in shots and a 4-2 margin in corners, and the Raiders allowed zero bids on goal.
Rutgers-Newark came out strong in the second stanza, generating a flurry of corners (five) and a trio of shots, but the guests were unable to find an insurance goal.
The inability to find a second goal was short lived as senior
Hubert Dul took a pass from the right wing off the foot of junior
Stefano Muniz and beat the Albright keeper on the left side at 62:45. Dul's goal was his second of the season, and the assist was the first of the year for Muniz.
Veteran
Zachary Gillespie scored his second goal in as many games 9:59 after Dul rang the bell, taking a pass from freshman
Ariel Parada and giving Rutgers-Newark a 3-0 lead with 17:16 left. Parada was credited with his second assist in as many matches, and both he and Gillespie have four points in their last two outings.
R-N was in control throughout, not allowing a shot on goal until the 83rd minute, and keeping the hosts without a any shot attempt for an incredible 62:55 of match time spanning the first and second half.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Andres Medina tallied his fourth individual clean sheet of the season, making one save. As a team, the Scarlet Raiders now have seven shutouts.
R-N ended Wednesday's match with a 26-5 advantage in shots and a 12-2 margin in corners.
Saturday's match at Kean is slated to get underway at 1 p.m. Rutgers-Newark will be looking to improve to 2-0-0 in the conference.
Notes:
-Rutgers-Newark last lost a regular-season match on September 17, 2016.
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Fabio De Sousa now has four game-winning goals which is top-four in the nation.
-The Rutgers-Newark defense has allowed grand total of one goal against this season.
-Rutgers-Newark is plus-24 in eight games this season, 25 goals for, one goals against.
