NEWARK, N.J. — Rutgers-Newark battled back twice Saturday afternoon, overcoming a pair of one-goal deficits to earn a 2-2 draw against Shenandoah University at Frederick Douglass Field.
Shenandoah opened the scoring in the 35th minute when Luke Shearer finished a pass from Eleazar Albe to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
The Scarlet Raiders answered just under four minutes later. Brody Belmonte found Ethan Geronimo, who scored in the 39th minute to even the match at 1-1 heading into halftime.
Rutgers-Newark came out aggressively in the second half, producing 10 shots after the break while limiting Shenandoah to three. The Hornets, however, regained the lead in the 73rd minute when Shearer assisted Maclain Szulborski to make it 2-1.
The Scarlet Raiders responded once again. Augusto Vieira found the back of the net off a free kick in the 83rd minute to pull Rutgers-Newark even at 2-2.
Rutgers-Newark continued to push for the game-winner in the final minutes. Nicholas Gomez nearly completed the comeback when his shot struck the top woodwork in the 88th minute. Brody Belmonte followed with another opportunity moments later, while Zahradeen Amadou fired a final shot in the closing seconds.
The match became increasingly physical as the teams battled through the final stages. The officials issued multiple cautions, with Rutgers-Newark's Daniel Velazquez, Michael Reis and Bryan Valdes receiving yellow cards, while Shenandoah's Maclain Szulborski was shown a red card in the second half. The Hornets also picked up yellow cards from Chase Prado and Aidan Browne.
Rutgers-Newark finished with a 15-8 advantage in shots and put seven attempts on frame. Amadou led the Scarlet Raiders with four shots, while Ian Brown added three. David Bejarno made one save in goal.
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