CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 9, 2021) – The rivalry between the Rutgers University-Camden and Ramapo College men's soccer teams has been so tight over the last few years, that the two teams had played to three 1-1 ties in their last five battles entering their game here Saturday.
 
It appeared that the latest contest was heading in the same direction, with the teams knotted at 1-1 entering overtime, but Scarlet Raptor senior forward Skyler Diggs had other plans.
 
Diggs drilled home the game-winning goal only 3:09 into overtime to lift Rutgers-Camden past Ramapo, 2-1, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action.
 
The win lifts Rutgers-Camden to 6-5-2 overall and 2-3 in the NJAC. Ramapo, the defending conference champion, falls to 6-5-1 overall and 1-3-1 in NJAC play.
 
The contest was a tale of two different halves, as Rutgers-Camden out-shot Ramapo, 11-2, in the opening period, when the Scarlet Raptors also held a 6-0 corner kick advantage. In the second half, however, Ramapo held a 10-2 lead in shots, although the Scarlet Raptors did manage a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
 
The decisive goal came on the only shot of overtime after Raptor senior forward Boluwatife Sanya and a Ramapo back battled for the ball near the top right of the box. Eventually the ball squirted out to the nearby Diggs, who drilled a shot into the back left corner for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. It was his 37th career tally, tying Richard Peters (1976-79) for sixth on the program's all-time list. With his 13th career game-winning goal, he moved alone into third place on the Rutgers-Camden career list, breaking the tie at 12 he had shared with Mike Zeno (1992-95). He also hiked his career point total to 79 (seventh in program history).
 
Both teams scored goals during the half they dominated, with both coming off corner kicks. The Raptors scored at 28:41 off a corner kick by senior back Christian McCartney. His kick to the near post was finished by freshman forward Ian Bialy for his first collegiate goal.
 
Ramapo tied the game in the 62nd minute when Osbin Mendez curled in a high corner kick off the hands of leaping goalie Connor Smith for his first tally of the year.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished with a 14-12 edge in shots, including an 8-6 margin in shots on goal. The Raptors had 10 corner kicks, while the Roadrunners had three.
 
Smith made five saves in the Scarlet Raptor goal and Joshua Schaffer finished with six for Ramapo.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference action Wednesday when it plays a 6:30 p.m. game at The College of New Jersey.