NEWARK, N.J. (September 3, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss at the hands of SUNY Cortland Sunday afternoon on Alumni Field.
 
The Red Dragons converted a penalty kick 1:55 into the first overtime period to secure the 3-2 triumph.
 
Rutgers-Newark drops to 1-1-0 on the young 2017 season, while Cortland moves to 1-0-1. The Scarlet Raiders will hit the road for five-straight matches starting Wednesday evening at St. Joe's – Long Island. Opening touch is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The match went back-and forth, and Rutgers-Newark jumped on top in the ninth minute when senior Haley Savva found the back of the net for the first time this season. On the play, junior Juliana Ceballos received the ball, entered the right side of the box and ripped a shot. The initial attempt was saved by Red Dragon goalkeeper Danika Svendsen, but Savva charged hard, cleaning up the rebound at 8:21 to give her team an early lead.
 
Rutgers-Newark held the better run of play for the next 15 or so minutes of action, but Cortland was able to gain its footing, creating several solid chances in the final third of the period. Senior goalkeeper Diana Carvalho made several excellent plays to deny Cortland opportunities, making five stops in the opening stanza, including a pair of sliding denials.
 
Cortland tied the match at one in the 34th minute when a scrum in front resulted in a rebound tally for freshman forward Janessa Factor.
 
The two teams would head into the intermission tied 1-1 with the Red Dragons holding a 9-6 margin in shots and a 6-2 edge in shots on goal.
 
With about 33 minutes left in regulation, the Scarlet Raiders had several quality scoring chances, generating a pair of corners and a free kick off the foot of Ceballos that was saved, deflecting out-of-bounds off the crossbar.
 
The second Scarlet Raider score was a beauty and came with 24:24 left in regulation. Ceballos controlled about 20 yards off the top-right off the box, splitting a pair of defenders with a through-ball. In the box, senior Sabrina Solorzano broke free, chasing down the pass and hammering a one-timer into the middle-right of the cage for her second marker of the season. The assist was the second of the game for Ceballos who now has six points in two matches this year.
 
The Red Dragons tied the score 2-2 with 6:48 to play when junior Brenna Conover controlled a loose ball at the top of the box, took one dribble and scored with a well-placed strike.
 
The only shot or scoring chance in the overtime period came on the PK goal from Conover.
 
Cortland held a 14-12 margin in shots, and the Scarlet Raiders finished with a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Carvalho made five saves for Rutgers-Newark.
 
Fans should follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter and Instagram all season long for the latest on Rutgers-Newark women's soccer. Raider fans should also follow @runwsoc on Instagram for an inside look at the team.