CAMDEN, N.J. (March 20, 2021) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer team is producing results that haven't been seen since the early days of the program's history, and the Scarlet Raptors added more accomplishments to their growing list here Saturday.
Freshman forward
Logan Koester scored her first career goal and the stingy Rutgers-Camden defense made it stand up as the Scarlet Raptors blanked Stockton University, 1-0, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action.
The victory raised the Raptors' record to 3-0 overall and in the NJAC, marking the first 3-0 start by the program since 2006. It was the third straight shutout for the team, something the Raptors hadn't done to open the season since posting five consecutive shutouts at the start of the 2004 campaign.
To make matters more impressive, the feat was accomplished against a conference foe that has practically owned the Scarlet Raptors since they joined the NJAC in 2000. It was Rutgers-Camden's first win over Stockton since a 2-1 road victory on Oct. 25, 2003. The Scarlet Raptors had been 0-15-2 since that game against the Ospreys and are now 2-18-4 in the all-time series.
The loss was the first of the season for the Ospreys (1-1-2).
Rutgers-Camden scored the only goal it needed on a terrific hustle play by Koester midway through the first half. She stole the ball being cleared out of the back, broke into the penalty box from the right side and finished off her game-winning goal at 29:48.
The play was one of the few breakdowns for either defense in the game where the Raptors held a 6-4 edge in shots and a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. Stockton nearly tied the game later in the half when senior midfielder Alexa Simonetti hit the crossbar, and Koester had her bid for an insurance goal saved by Osprey keeper Kylee Sullivan late in the game.
The contest marked the third shared shutout by Raptor freshman goalies
Chloe Beasley and
Kayla McKeever, who have both played one half in each of the three Rutgers-Camden contests. Beasley played the first half Saturday, making one save and picking up the win to raise her record to 2-0.
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. NJAC game at Kean University.
