CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 13, 2021) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer team knew it had its work cut out for it in a New Jersey Athletic Conference battle against The College of New Jersey here Wednesday night.
After all, the Lions entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in both the United Soccer Coaches and the D3soccer.com Division III polls. They were undefeated, owned nine shutouts and had outscored opponents, 36-2, in their 11 games. Their closest games had been two-goal wins.
What the odds couldn't measure, however, was the tenacious defense, non-stop hustle and huge heart that the Scarlet Raptors exhibited all game long. By the end of the contest, TCNJ had scraped out a 1-0 victory on a second-half goal to raise its record to 12-0 overall and 6-0 in the NJAC. The Lions' 10th shutout of the season also marked the only time this year they have posted a one-goal win. Their closest victories before Wednesday were five two-goal wins – a trio of 2-0 shutouts and a pair of 3-1 victories.
Although the loss dropped the Scarlet Raptors to 4-7-1 overall, snapping a three-game winning streak, it also marked the best defensive effort the Scarlet Raptors have recorded against TCNJ since 2003, when they notched their lone win over the Lions in the 21-game history of the series. That result, a 1-0 win on Sept. 24, 2003 in Camden, came against the flow of play in a contest the Lions dominated.
Wednesday in Camden, the rugged Scarlet Raptor defense thwarted the Lions for practically the entire game. By halftime, TCNJ had only four shots and four corner kicks, while sophomore goalie
Kayla McKeever notched a pair of first-half saves. Rutgers-Camden, meanwhile, notched its only shot of the game in the opening half on a long restart by junior midfielder
Lindsay Hernandez.
The Lions swarmed around the Scarlet Raptor net in the second half, launching 11 shots, including one off the crossbar, but it wasn't until the 71st minute that they broke the scoring ice. Victoria D'Imperio headed home a corner kick by Amelia Curtis for her third goal of the season.
TCNJ finished with a 15-1 advantage in shots and a 10-0 margin in corner kicks, with eight of its shots on goal. McKeever made six saves and the Raptors also had a backsave in the game. Lions senior goalie Alexandra Panasuk didn't need a save to collect her fifth shutout of the season.
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Saturday with a 1 p.m. NJAC game at New Jersey City University.
