CAMDEN, N.J. (Nov. 5, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Camden men's soccer team has been a perennial power in the ECAC tournament over the years and the Scarlet Raptors will have a chance to contend for another ECAC crown this season.
 
The Eastern College Athletic Conference announced the field for its 2018 Division III Men's Soccer Championship late Monday and the Raptors will be the second seed in their pod for the 16-team, four-pod tournament, which begins Saturday.
 
Rutgers-Camden (13-5-2) will play third-seed Hood College (8-7-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday in a four-team pod that will be held at top-seeded Neumann University. The Knights (11-4-2) will host No. 4 seed William Paterson University (12-7-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday's winners will play at 12 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the semifinal rounds, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 17, at a site to be determined. The title game will be held at that same site on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 12 p.m.
 
Last season the Scarlet Raptors advanced to the ECAC title game before losing, 3-2, at host Lebanon Valley College on a rainy, wet field.
 
The 2018 season will mark the Scarlet Raptors' third straight trip to the ECAC tournament and 10th trip overall. They are 15-5 overall in their first nine ECAC events, including four combined championships in the ECAC Metro and ECAC Metro/Upstate tournaments in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014. Since Tim Oswald became the Raptors' head coach in 2006, the team has posted a 15-2 record over six ECAC tournaments, including four titles and one finalist berth.
 
This weekend's ECAC pod has the potential to match Rutgers-Camden against William Paterson for the third time since Oct. 20, if the teams earn victories on Saturday. The two New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents played their regular-season game in Camden on Oct. 20, with the Scarlet Raptors posting a 3-1 win. One week later, in the first round of the NJAC playoffs, the Pioneers edged the Raptors, 2-1, in another game held in Camden.
 
Rutgers-Camden and William Paterson are two of the three NJAC teams in the ECAC tournament field. Rutgers-Newark is the host and top seed in Pod 3.
 
ECAC bracket