NEWARK, N.J. (September 29, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team suffered a loss tonight to New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Montclair State University who pulled away in the second half to take a 6-2 decision on Frederick Douglass Field.

The Scarlet Raiders fall to 7-4-1 (2-2-0 NJAC) and see their 17-match, including postseason, home winning streak snapped. The Red Hawks improve to 10-1-1 (4-0-0 NJAC).

MSU outshot R-N 23-9 and 17-3 in attempts on target while also holding a 6-0 advantage in corners.

Rookie keeper Christian Andrach took the loss while making 10 saves. Mike Saalfrank had one stop and earned the win.

Rutgers-Newark returns to action on Wednesday night at Stevens with a 7 p.m. start.

The Red Hawks struck first a little over 13 minutes into the contest. Rafael Terci received a ball in the midfield and took a touch before turning to face the defense.

He then slid a perfect diagonal ball into the box behind the defense to play in Kevin Simek on the left side. Simek did the rest, taking a couple dribbles in before blasting a strike from about six yards out into the far right corner.

The Raiders began to gain a couple opportunities beginning with sophomore Ariel Parada who flashed a header wide at exactly 22:00. Senior Brandon Goldy tested the waters next as he tried his luck from long range but sent his right-footed strike over the crossbar.

Rookie Franco Catania had Newark's best chance to that point, doing well to hold up the ball after a long pass before turning and firing a low left-footed strike that skipped inches wide of the post.  

The Red Hawks doubled their advantage in the 39^th when Nixon Soglo capitalized on a turnover in his attacking third. The forward corralled the ball before take a few dribbles a couple feet outside the 18 and then powering a right footed shot that took a deflection and wound up in the upper right 90.

Parada pulled one back early in the second half when senior Bryan Rodrigues broke into the offensive third, drew a couple defenders and masterfully delivered a pass behind the defense for Parada. Parada made no mistake with the chance, running onto the ball and sliding a right-footed shot past the on-rushing keeper to make it 2-1.

Parada nearly found the equalizer in the 59^th when he was played in down the left wing but his half volley on the bouncing pass sailed over the net.

Unfortunately, just 36 seconds later, MSU restored its two-goal lead when an attempt at a clearance went awry and eventually led to Terci nodding the ball into an open goal at 58:51 to make it 3-1.

The Red Hawks put the match out of reach in the 62^nd when Jose Huerta beat the defense down the right side and got to the touchline. Huerta then cut a pass back for Knapp who turned to protect the ball before laying it off to Colin Mulligan. Mulligan did the rest, taking a touch to get the ball on his left foot before ripping a shot from about 12 yards out that beat the keeper.

Catania nearly singlehandedly got the Raiders back within two at the 70:04 mark. The rookie forward beat a couple defenders down the wing with his speed and footwork before cutting into the box and getting the ball on his left foot. Catania created just enough space to get off a strike that took a generous deflection from a defender before it settled in the back of the net for his 10^th goal of the season.

Soglo tacked on to the visitors' lead at 74:48 when he fought off a defender and settled a long ball from his keeper before connecting on a strong volley that beat the goalie. Jake Seaman made it 6-2 after playing a give-and-go with Knapp on the left edge of the box led to Seaman slicing a volley that fooled the keeper and wound up in the right-side netting in the 79^th.

MSU capped the scoring at 88:54 when Juan Carlos Merino took advantage of the home team pressing forward and found himself on a breakaway down the right side. Merino finished off the play by driving in on goal and forcing a left-footed shot past the netminder.