NEWARK, N.J. – The Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team punched its ticket to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) semifinals in dramatic fashion, defeating SUNY New Paltz, 3-2, in overtime Saturday afternoon at Frederick Douglass Field.
With the victory, the Scarlet Raiders improve to 9-3-5 and advance to face No. 1 Montclair State on Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m. in the NJAC semifinals.
Rutgers-Newark controlled the opening half and built a 2-0 lead behind a pair of first-half goals. Ali Celik opened the scoring in the 16th minute after finishing a setup from Chihiro Suenaga, and Ian Brown doubled the advantage in the 37th minute off an assist from Noah Russon.
New Paltz battled back in the second half, cutting the deficit to one in the 68th minute before an own goal with just 33 seconds remaining in regulation allowed the Hawks to equalize and force overtime.
The Scarlet Raiders wasted little time in the extra period.
In the 99th minute, Augusto Vieira delivered the game-winner, finishing a pass from Michael Reis to send Rutgers-Newark into the conference semifinals.
Vieira led the Scarlet Raiders with 3 shots, while Celik and Brown each added a goal. Reis, Russon, and Suenaga all recorded assists, and goalkeeper David Bejarano played the full 98:05, making 1 save in the victory.
Rutgers-Newark will now hit the road to take on top-seeded Montclair State on Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m., with a spot in the NJAC Championship on the line.
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