Box Score

ONEONTA, N.Y. (Nov. 14, 2015) – Rutgers University-Camden senior midfielder Connor Hurff (Sewell, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) beat charging Eastern University sophomore goalkeeper Quentin Keibler (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) to a perfect pass at the left side of the goal box and fired in the game-winning goal in the second overtime period to lift the Scarlet Raptors over the Eagles, 2-1, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship tournament here Saturday afternoon.
 
Rutgers-Camden (14-7-2) will face host SUNY-Oneonta Sunday in a second-round game at 1 p.m. The Red Dragons, currently ranked No. 8 in the NSCAA Top 25 and No. 7 in the D3soccer.com poll, ripped the City College of New York, 7-0, in Saturday's other first-round game.
 
Eastern, which was ranked No. 21 in the D3soccer.com poll this week, closes its season at 16-3-2.

 NCAA Interactive Bracket
 
Playing a man up after an Eastern player was red-carded for a goal-denying handball early in the second half, the Scarlet Raptors had all sorts of chances to put the game away, out-shooting the Eagles, 19-0, from the second half through the overtimes. Keibler, however, made seven of his 10 saves during that span and the Raptors were denied on several chances until Hurff took a perfect feed from senior midfielder Grant Taylor (Mendham, NJ/West Morris-Mendham). He ended the game at 102:23 with his eighth goal of the season.
 
"Eastern came out with a lot of energy to start," said Hurff.  "Once we settled in, we were able to string some passes together and generate some chances of our own.  It took longer than we would have wanted, but we are glad to be moving on."
 
For Taylor, who was playing the 90th game of his career to become only the fourth Scarlet Raptor to reach that milestone, it was his seventh assist of the season. It also capped a big day in which both Hurff and Taylor collected a goal and an assist to account for the Raptors' two tallies.
 
"I thought we showed some resiliency today," said Rutgers-Camden Head Coach Tim Oswald.  To fall behind early, chase the game, and then to find a way to win showed patience and discipline. Eastern is a tremendous program.  We respect their coach and the players so much.  They showed great character and heart to be a man down for that long and continue to battle."
 
Eastern scored the game's first goal at 10:57 after Rutgers-Camden was called for a foul in the box, giving the Eagles a penalty kick. Sophomore midfielder Jadon Ramsing (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) took the shot and placed it to the right of Raptor freshman keeper James Brett (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra). It was his sixth goal of the season.
 
Rutgers-Camden tied the game at 27:11, following a perfect through ball by Hurff that split the Eastern defense. Taylor ran onto the ball and fired a left-footed shot into the net for the equalizer and his third goal of the season.
 
For Hurff, it was his team-leading 11th assist of the year, tied for the fifth-highest single-season total in program history with Rodney Guishard's 2007 output. It also was Hurff's 24th career assist at Rutgers-Camden, tying him for fourth on the program's career chart with Guishard (2004-07), Mitch Grotti (2010-13) and Pat Baldiserra (2004-06).
 
Early in the second half, the Raptors nearly scored a goal, but were denied by a handball, giving Rutgers-Camden a penalty kick and causing the Eagles to lose a player to a red card. Keibler, however, saved the penalty kick at 51:12. The rest of the game, the Scarlet Raptors had numerous scoring opportunities as they finished with a 26-4 advantage in shots. Eastern held a 6-5 edge in corner kicks, although Rutgers-Camden had a 4-1 margin from the second half through the overtime periods.
 
Brett made one save, stopping a first-half shot, to earn the victory. Out of the Scarlet Raptors' 23 games this season, they have now posted a 7-5-2 against teams that have appeared in the national rankings or received votes toward one of the two (NSCAA and D3soccer.com) national polls.
 
"Congratulations to Rutgers," said Eastern Head Coach Mark Wagner after the game.  "They are a well coached and organized team. I am proud of the way our guys played and I thought we did a great job of staying organized after we received the red card and playing with only 10 men.  Seven of our starters were freshmen and sophomores.  We will be back and go further next time."