UNION, N.J. (March 24, 2021) – Throughout most of the Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer game here Wednesday night, it appeared that the only winner would be the miserable weather.
 
The Scarlet Raptors, however, had other ideas and kept plugging away in the downpour that turned the field into a puddle-filled disaster that stopped dribbles and passes in their tracks. Two goals off corner kicks, only 1:09 apart in the second half, lifted Rutgers-Camden past Kean, 2-0, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
Rutgers-Camden raised its record to 4-0 overall and in the NJAC, while continuing its season-long defensive lockdown with its fourth straight shutout to open the season. Freshman goalkeeper Kayla McKeever, who shared the previous three shutouts with freshman Chloe Beasley, played the entire 90 minutes in the net to register her first official collegiate shutout. She made one second-half save on the only shot that the Cougars took all night.
 
Kean falls to 0-3-1 overall and in the conference.
 
The Raptors' season-opening winning streak and shutout streak is the longest since 2004, when Rutgers-Camden won its first five games by shutout scores. Never in their history, however, have the Scarlet Raptors posted four straight shutouts against NJAC opponents until this year.
 
Although Rutgers-Camden had the better of play, neither team could mount much offense in the game hampered by pouring rain and huge puddles. The Raptors held a 4-0 advantage in shots and a 3-0 edge in corner kicks during the scoreless first half.
 
The game remained scoreless well into the second half when two of the Raptors' stellar center backs teamed up to find the lone goal the team needed. Freshman India Barnes, who was named on Monday as the NJAC Rookie of the Week, took a corner kick that the Cougars couldn't clear out of the box. Junior Breana Winder, this week's NJAC Defensive Player of the Week, finished the play by knocking the loose ball into the lower right corner. It was her first goal of the season and turned out to be her career game-winning tally.
 
Winder's goal came at 72:23 and it didn't take long for the Scarlet Raptors to strike again off a corner kick by Barnes. On a similar play, with a ball that wasn't cleared in the box, freshman Alexa D'Ilio scored her first collegiate goal at 73:32.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished with a 12-1 advantage in shots, including a 7-1 margin on goal. The Scarlet Raptors also held a 7-1 margin in corner kicks.
 
While McKeever made one save to earn her shutout, Kean senior goalie Marissa Cook had five saves.
 
Rutgers-Camden hosts Montclair State University March 31 at 7 p.m. in a game that could decide which team gets the top seed for the NJAC playoffs.