UNION, N.J. (September 23, 2017) – Head Men's Soccer Coach
Kevin East picked up his 150th win at Rutgers University-Newark as the nationally-ranked No. 4 Scarlet Raiders improved to 9-0-0 in 2017 with a 2-0 win over Kean University Saturday afternoon in Union.
The Scarlet Raiders scored two goals in the middle of the first half and never looked back, improving to 2-0-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Rutgers-Newark has now won 21-straight regular-season games dating back to September 17, 2016.
East is in his 11th season leading the Scarlet Raiders, now boasting a record of 150-73-14. He has presided over the program throughout its rise to national prominence.
Over the last four-plus seasons, Rutgers-Newark has gone 79-23-2, reaching three NCAA Tournaments. The Scarlet Raiders made the 'Big Dance' for the first time in 2013, won their first NCAA match the next year and made a run to the 'Elite Eight' in 2016. The squad also won an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) title in 2015.
Saturday's win saw the Scarlet Raiders in control for much of the match, scoring at 20:05 to go on top 1-0, and getting an insurance goal a little more than seven minutes later.
"We played solid defensively again, and I was proud of the team effort to keep a clean sheet which we take a lot of pride in," said East after the win. "We were able to capitalize on a few forced mistakes by Kean to score our goals."
Junior
Stefano Muniz put home the game-winner, busting up a clear and converting a one-on-one opportunity with the Cougar goalkeeper. Muniz now has four goals this season, three of which have gone in the books as game-winners.
Sophomore
Fabio De Sousa was responsible for the second tally of the afternoon, registering his team-high seventh goal at 27:27. Freshman
Joshua Breton-Jones was credited with the assist on the play, picking up his first collegiate point. De Sousa now has goals in three-straight matches and four of the last five, and Muniz has points in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
The Cougars (4-3-1 overall, 0-2-0 NJAC) took the first shot in the contest, but that was it for the next 27:18 of match time as the Scarlet Raiders took over. Kean was only able to muster four total bids in the opening period, none of which were on target.
R-N remained in control in the second half, creating several flurries and maintaining a strong hold on the game.
The Scarlet Raiders ended the 90 minutes taking seven of the game's eight corner kicks and not allowing a single shot to reach sophomore goalkeeper
Andres Medina until the final second. Medina recorded his fifth individual clean sheet of the year.
Rutgers-Newark now has eight shutouts in nine matches as a team and boasts a plus-26 scoring differential (27-1). The Raiders ended the match with a 23-10 margin in shots and a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal.
"We could have been a bit better in possession, but we played a lot of our young guys and they keep learning," added East. "It was a difficult day to play, being so hot for late September. It felt more like preseason on the field than the first few days of fall."
Rutgers-Newark will look to continue its strong play Monday afternoon when the Scarlet Raiders visit the College of Staten Island in a non-conference match at 4 p.m. The Raiders return home Wednesday night for a showdown with NJAC foe New Jersey City University.
