Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. (Oct. 24, 2015) – Facing a possibility of missing the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs, and mired in a long slump, the Rutgers University-Camden men's soccer team was looking for a big turnaround in its fortunes in a key NJAC game here Saturday night.
 
The Scarlet Raptors found what they were seeking.
 
Senior back Ramadan Bayyan (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) scored a goal early in the first half and senior forward Mike Ryan (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) added a record-tying late-game goal as the Scarlet Raptors defeated sister school Rutgers-Newark, 2-0. Ryan's goal, the 74th of his career, tied him for the all-time NJAC goal-scoring lead.
 
The Scarlet Raptors not only snapped a four-game losing streak, they raised their record to 5-3 in the conference, jumping into a three-way tie for third place in the conference race with 15 points, along with Kean and Rowan. The Scarlet Raptors are two points ahead of Rutgers-Newark and three ahead of The College of New Jersey with one game remaining in the regular-season schedule. The top six teams make the playoffs, so the wild race will come down to Wednesday night, when the Raptors' final game is a 7:30 p.m. home contest with Stockton University, which currently sits in second place with 19 points.
 
Rutgers-Camden hiked its overall record to 10-7-1, marking the sixth straight season, and 12th in the last 13 years, that the Raptors have reached double digits in wins.
 
Newark, which has received votes for both the NSCAA Division III and the D3soccer.com Top 25 polls this season, falls to 13-5-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the NJAC with its sixth straight loss in the series against Rutgers-Camden. The Raptors lead the all-time series, 30-11-2.
 
The Scarlet Raptors scored 14:44 into the game on a header into the upper right 90 by Bayyan. The play started with a throw-in by sophomore midfielder Sean Welch (Medford, NJ/Shawnee), which was headed by freshman back Darnell Brown (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) and finished by Bayyan's header for his first goal of the season. It wa Bayyan's second career goal at Rutgers-Camden and the first career assist for both Welch and Brown.
 
In a game where Rutgers-Newark held a 15-8 advantage in shots and an 8-3 edge in corner kicks, the Raptors' freshman goalie James Brett (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra) was forced to make eight saves. His counterpart, senior Matt Broomall (Somers Point, NJ/Mainland) had three saves.
 
Clinging to a tenuous lead, Ryan provided a huge insurance tally with 1:44 remaining in the game. He dribbled into the left side of the box and ripped a shot across the mouth of the goal into the lower right corner. It was his 17th goal of the season and the 74th of his career, tying Kean's Fred Guiran (1990-92) as the NJAC's all-time leading goal scorer. Ryan also increased his career point total to 164, the third-highest mark in NJAC history.
 
Senior midfielder Grant Taylor (Mendham, NJ/West Morris-Mendham) and Brett had assists on Ryan's goal. It was the fifth assist for Taylor and the third assist this season for Brett.

The Scarlet Raptors will honor nine seniors, including Bayyan and Ryan, prior to their home game Wednesday against Stockton University.