Ewing, NJ – Rutgers-Newark got off to a dream start on the road Saturday afternoon, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes before The College of New Jersey rallied back for a 3-2 victory.

The Scarlet Raiders wasted no time getting on the board as Mariana Valencia struck in the 9th minute off an assist from Vielka Fernandez to make it 1-0. Just over a minute later, Emily Karlicki doubled the lead at the 10:03 mark to put Rutgers-Newark up 2-0 early.

The Lions quickly responded, however, scoring twice within the next six minutes to even the score. Ari Keily pulled one back in the 13th minute before Abby Najdzinowicz netted the equalizer at 16:28, shifting momentum toward TCNJ. The two teams would go into the half tied 2-2. 

Despite the Raiders' early success, the Lions controlled possession the rest of the way, outshooting Rutgers-Newark 11-0 in the second half. The breakthrough came late, when Alyssa Alfano converted a penalty in the 80th minute to complete the comeback.

Valencia and Karlicki tallied the goals for Rutgers-Newark, while Fernandez picked up the assist. Goalkeeper Alisha Perez made several key stops to keep the Raiders in contention, but TCNJ's pressure proved too much to withstand.

With the loss, Rutgers-Newark dropped to 8-7-1 overall and 2-3-1 in NJAC play, while TCNJ improved to 7-4-4 and 4-1-1 in the conference.

The Scarlet Raiders will look to rebound as they return home for senior night on Wednesday, October 22nd for a matchup with Stockton. 

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