Box Score
CAMDEN, N.J. (Sept. 23, 2017) – Two quick strikes proved costly for the Rutgers University-Camden men's soccer team in its Homecoming Day game here Saturday against Montclair State University.
The Red Hawks stole the ball near the top of the box early in the contest and scored the game's first goal and added an insurance strike on a breakaway started by junior goalie
Mike Saalfrank (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey) as they defeated the Scarlet Raptors, 2-0, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
Rutgers-Camden falls to 3-5-1 overall and 0-2 in the NJAC, while Montclair State improves to 5-3-1 and 1-1. The Red Hawks are 6-0-1 in their last seven games against the Scarlet Raptors and own a 24-11-6 lead in the all-time series.
The Scarlet Raptors and Red Hawks used their NJAC showdown for a good cause, as both teams wore gold shoelaces to support the Lacing Up 4 Pediatric Cancer initiative. The program from the Go4theGoal Foundation helps support pediatric cancer patients. All donations, plus $4 from every pair of $5 gold laces that the teams wore, will go toward supporting kids with cancer and their families. For more information and to donate, visit
www.go4thegoal.org
In the fourth minute of the game, senior midfielder
Mike Taranto (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) stole the ball outside the box and passed to junior forward
Rafael Terci (Union, NJ/Union). Terci finished off his fourth goal of the season at 3:25 with a shot from the left side of the box toward the right corner.
Early in the second half, Taranto ran onto a long punt by Saalfrank and fired in his team-leading sixth goal of the year at 58:23. The goal and assist on the day give Taranto a team-high 14 points.
Montclair State finished with a 13-11 edge in shots, while Rutgers-Camden had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks on the hot day at Rutgers-Camden Community Park. Both Saalfrank and Raptor junior goalie
James Brett (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra) finished with three saves.
Montclair State and Rutgers-Camden bot resume their NJAC schedule on Wednesday. The Red Hawks host Kean University at 7 p.m., while the Scarlet Raptors play a 7:30 p.m. game at The College of New Jersey.
