SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Nov. 13, 2021) – The ECAC Div. III Men's Soccer Championships usually serve as a highlight for the talent at Rutgers University-Camden and, although the Scarlet Raptors' opening tourney game took extra time, it ended in a familiar result.
 
Senior defender Christian McCartney scored his first goal of the season in the first overtime period and it was all Rutgers-Camden needed to defeat host and second seed Springfield College (10-8), 1-0, in a Pod 2 semifinal game. Rutgers-Camden (9-8-3), the third seed in Pod 2, will play fourth-seeded Muhlenberg College (8-7-2)  here Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Pod 2 final. The winner advances to next Saturday's ECAC title game against the winner of Pod 1.
 
Muhlenberg defeated top seed Alvernia (14-6), 3-2, in Saturday's other Pod 2 semifinal game.
 
Rutgers-Camden is competing in its 11th ECAC tournaments in program history, including the eighth under Head Coach Tim Oswald. The Scarlet Raptors are now 17-6 overall in ECAC play, including 17-3 since Oswald started coaching in 2006. Under Oswald, the Raptors won the ECAC title in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014, was a quarterfinalist in both 2016 and 2018, and lost in the 2017 ECAC finals.
 
Midway through the first 10-minute overtime period, the Scarlet Raptors had a flurry of four corner kicks within a one-minute span. One came from McCartney, while three were taken by senior midfielder Liam Craver. Moments after Craver's final corner kick, McCartney made his first goal of the year a game-winning tally, scoring at 97:00. It was his lone shot of the game.
 
Both teams only placed three shots on goal, while Rutgers-Camden held an overall 10-8 advantage in shots. The Scarlet Raptors also held a 9-5 edge in corner kicks, including all four in the overtime period.
 
Raptor freshman keeper Sean Boen made three saves to collect his second shutout of the season. Springfield keeper Clayton Knibbs had two saves.