SAN ANTONIO, Texas (September 2, 2018) – The 19^th-ranked Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team concluded its trip to San Antonio with a tough loss to Southwestern University. The Scarlet Raiders conceded two first half goals and lost 2-0 as they fall to 0-2 early in the 2018 campaign while the Pirates even their record at 1-1.

The Scarlet Raiders ended the game with a 20-7 advantage in shots, although attempts on frame were just 5-3 in favor of Newark, and a whopping 13-0 edge in corner kicks.

Andrach made one stop in the loss while Southwestern's rookie netminder Sam Laude made four saves.

Rutgers-Newark returns to action with its home-opener on Wednesday at 5 p.m. against CCNY during the annual Soccer Fest celebration where fans in attendance at newly minted Frederick Douglass Field will get free t-shirts.  

Southwestern struck early, taking a lead in the 4^th minute after R-N failed to properly clear a long throw-in. A ball was played into a dangerous area and flicked on to the left side of the six-yard box where a striker pounced and poked home his own rebound after it deflected off the hands of freshman keeper Christian Andrach.

The Scarlet Raiders looked to quickly strike back and began to find their footing in the 14^th minute. R-N used the width of the pitch and attacked frequently down the wings, generating a flurry of corners. Unfortunately, the team's best chance on a header by senior Stefano Muniz flashed just wide of the post in the 19^th.

While the Raiders controlled possession and dictated the pace of the match over the next few minutes, it was Southwestern that managed to double its lead. The Pirates made the most of a corner kick, converting on a header at the near-post.

Rutgers-Newark's next strong chance came in the 27^th, after earning a free kick just outside the 18 on the right side. Left-footed rookie Joe Alba attempted to bend a shot into the upper left-hand corner of the net, but his curling ball never dipped and wound up going wide of the net.

Although the Scarlet Raiders continued to maintain possession, they were unable to generate many dangerous opportunities and headed into the break trailing 2-0 despite holding an 11-2 advantage in shots and 5-0 edge in corner kicks.

The second half followed a similar script to the opening period. While Rutgers-Newark had the majority of the possession, it was not able to create any meaningful chances on frame.

One of the Raiders best opportunities came in the 76^th minute when a clever piece of ball movement sprung Muniz free inside the box. The forward blasted a shot from the right side of the six towards the near post but the keeper got enough on it to deflect it wide.

Shortly after, a corner kick led to a cross from the right wing that found the head of a streaking Alec Virulet, unfortunately the sophomore sent his header wide of the mark.

R-N continued to attack late in the match, pressing for a goal as a surging run by sophomore Ariel Parada that began in his own half generated yet another corner. However, the Pirates defense continued their stingy performance and closed out the match with a clean sheet.