Box Score
CAMDEN, N.J. (Sept. 13, 2017) – Over the past several years, goals have been almost as rare as water in the desert for the Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer team, but the current version of the Scarlet Raptors is building a new identity.
Rutgers-Camden exploded for five goals here Wednesday night, including two apiece by freshman forward
Meghan Wachira (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro North) and sophomore midfielder
Sarah Zuzulock (National Park, NJ/Gateway Regional), as it defeated Rosemont College, 5-1, in a non-conference game.
The victory was the third straight for the Scarlet Raptors, hiking their record to 3-2. Rosemont falls to 2-3.
It's the first three-game winning streak for the Scarlet Raptors since Oct. 20-26, 2015, when they beat New Jersey City University (5-0), Rutgers-Newark (2-1) and the College of Staten Island (2-0). The five Raptor goals are the most since that NJCU game on Oct. 20, 2015.
The scoring explosion gave the Scarlet Raptors 12 goals in their first five games, nearly matching the 16 they scored all of last season. Rutgers-Camden hadn't scored a dozen goals through five games since 2010, and that output was significantly padded by an 8-0 romp.
Wachira, meanwhile, hiked her season scoring output to five goals and one assist for 11 points. She owns the game-winning goal in all three wins during the Scarlet Raptors' streak, leaving her only two shy of tying the
season program record for game-winning goals, set by Heather Greenwald in 2003.
In addition to Wachira and Zuzulock, sophomore forward
Nicolette Stafford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) scored her first goal of the season. Midfielders
Kaitlyn Ennis (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington) and
Melissa Peel (Gibbstown, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology) collected two assists apiece for the Scarlet Raptors.
In goal, junior
Liz DiCamillo (Blackwood, NJ/Triton Regional) made her first start of the season and collected three saves to earn the win. She also was aided by a huge backsave from midfielder
Rachel Fanrak (Pennsauken, NJ/Paul VI) late in the first half, temporarily preserving the shutout bid.
Wachira scored the first two goals of the game for the Raptors, with her first strike coming at 22:31 after Peel sprung her down the left side on a breakaway. She cut to the middle, near the top of the box, and fired a shot to the right side of the net.
Wachira scored again five minutes later, beating Rosemont keeper
Teagan Dawson (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove), who came charging out of the box in a vain attempt to thwart a breakaway. Wachira worked around Dawson and found the open net.
Zuzulock scored the first of her two goals, both assisted by Ennis, at 31:01 after Ennis won the ball at the top of the box. She passed to Zuzulock, who hit a high shot into the net for her first goal of the season. Early in the second half, she added her second tally after being sprung on a breakaway by Ennis. The points were the first of the season for Ennis, who has been one of the Scarlet Raptors' steadiest players in the midfield.
Stafford closed the Raptors' scoring on another breakaway, orchestrated by a through ball from Peel, at 57:16. The two assists lifted Peel's season total to four, one ahead of Zuzulock for the team high.
The Ravens broke the shutout on an unassisted goal by
Rose Brown (Kingston, Jamaica/Queens High School of Teaching) at 65:25.
Although Rutgers-Camden only had a 10-6 statistical edge in shots and a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks, the Scarlet Raptors controlled play throughout the game.
Dawson made four saves for Rosemont.
Both teams open up their conference schedules on Saturday with 1 p.m. home games. Rutgers-Camden hosts Rutgers-Newark in New Jersey Athletic Conference play. Rosemont entertains Keystone College in a Colonial States Athletic Conference contest.
