Box Score CAMDEN, N.J. – During his first year after transferring to Rutgers University-Camden in 2013,
Ryan Kelly (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford) played a big role off the bench as the men's soccer team advanced all the way to the NCAA Division III championship game.
After overcoming some nagging injuries, Kelly started to show some of his scoring touch here Saturday. A senior who has played at both Marshall University and St. Joseph University, Kelly scored the first two goals of his Rutgers-Camden career to lead the Scarlet Raptors over Kean University, 3-1, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
The victory lifted the Scarlet Raptors to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in the NJAC, while Kean falls to 7-4-1 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
Rutgers-Camden has won the last four games in the series, but Kean leads the all-time record, 28-14-1.
The Cougars came out strong and had several early scoring opportunities in the first half, led by dangerous freshman forward
Sevag Kherlopian (Haworth, NJ/Northern Valley Regional), who finished with six of the team's 16 shots, and scored Kean's lone goal.
Rutgers-Camden survived the early onslaught, however, and eventually notched the lone first-half goal on a flurry of action in the box. The ball eventually found Kelly on the right side, and the senior tucked his first Raptor goal into the net at 31:15.
It didn't take Kean long to tie the game in the second half. Just 3:28 into the second stanza, sophomore midfielder
Robert Barrera (Elizabeth, NJ/Union) threaded a through ball up the middle of the Raptor defense. Kherlopian ran onto the ball near the top of the box and finished off his sixth goal of the season inside the right post.
The Scarlet Raptors countered again only 2:25 later, and this time Kelly's goal proved to be the game winner. The play started with junior midfielder
Giuseppe DeLuca (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) near the right touchline at midfield. He sent a pass into the middle for junior midfielder
Jeramey Robbins (Berkeley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston), who found Kelly on the left side. Kelly finished the play with another shot inside the far right post.
The Scarlet Raptors tacked on a much-needed insurance goal at 67:09 on a corner kick by senior midfielder
Joe Auleta (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton). He hit his kick to the far right post, where junior midfielder
Grant Taylor (Mendham, NJ/West Morris-Mendham) rose above a crowd to head home his second goal of the season.
The Cougars, who had several dangerous chances in the game, nearly cut the margin to one goal six minutes later, but a shot by Kherlopian in the box was blocked on a backsave by junior
Kwame Mensah (Aurora, CO/Gateway). Rutgers-Camden finished with a 22-16 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks. Raptor sophomore keeper
Eric Bumbera (Wall, NJ/Wall) had five saves, while Cougar senior goalie
Nick Pavlichko (Byram, NJ/Lenape Valley Regional) collected seven.
The Cougars play a 3 p.m. non-conference game against John Jay College on Monday, a contest which will be held at the College of Staten Island. The Scarlet Raptors return to action that same night with a 7 p.m. non-conference home game against Haverford College.
