Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Senior center back Brian Palangi has been a defensive stalwart during his two years with the Rutgers University-Camden men’s soccer team. In addition to anchoring a strong defense, Palangi also took a leading offensive role last week, scoring three goals, including a pair of game-winning tallies, as the Scarlet Raptors won all three of their games and stretched their winning streak to seven. Both of Palangi’s game-winning goals came against New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents during the week. In a conference makeup game against The College of New Jersey on Tuesday, Palangi headed in the Raptors’ second goal of the game off a corner kick and later added another goal, helping Rutgers-Camden post a 3-1 win. On Thursday, he helped the team record its fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory at Penn State-Abington. Saturday against NJAC rival Rutgers-Newark, Palangi’s header off a restart provided the winning goal in a 2-1 victory. For the season, Palangi has started all 14 games for the 10-3-1 Scarlet Raptors, while ranking third on the team in scoring with eight points. He is second on the team with his two game-winning goals and is tied for second in total goals with four. Prior to joining the Scarlet Raptors as a junior, Palangi played two seasons with Rowan College at Gloucester County, where he was named the NJCAA Division III Player of the Year and a First Team All-American in 2016.