CAMDEN, N.J. (Sept. 2, 2021) – The Rutgers University-Camden men's soccer team welcomed the start of a new season here Thursday, and the Scarlet Raptors did so in familiar ways.
 
Rutgers-Camden received a pair of first-half goals and went on to defeat Arcadia University, 3-0, in a game that was postponed from Wednesday due to the torrential rains from Hurricane Ida.
 
The victory extended the Scarlet Raptors' opening-day unbeaten streak to four seasons (3-0-1) and raised Head Coach Tim Oswald's opening-day record to 10-4-2 as he begins his 16th season. Oswald is now 202-88-39 overall at Rutgers-Camden.
 

The win marked the eighth opening-day shutout for the Raptors during Oswald's tenure.
 
Rutgers-Camden received a goal and an assist from senior forward Khari Shepherd, while sophomore Khylei Neal and senior Luis Rivadeneira also added goals.
 
Rutgers-Camden out-shot Arcadia, 9-2,in the opening half on the way to a 12-4 advantage for the game. The Raptors also held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Shepherd, a former All-Region player at Raritan Valley Community College, scored the only goal the Raptors needed when he hit a 30-yard bullet inside the right post at 22:34. Less than three minutes later, Neal took advantage of a poor back pass toward Arcadia's goalie Jake Varrato, stealing the ball from the diving keeper. He worked his way around Varrato toward the right post and finished off an insurance goal at 25:18.
 
The Scarlet Raptors completed the scoring at 73:11 when Rivadeneira scored from the box, tucking a shot inside the left post. He was assisted by Shepherd.
 
The goals were the first career tallies at Rutgers-Camden for Shepherd and Neal, while Rivadeneira raised his Raptor goal output to three.
 
Sophomore goalie Connor Smith earned his first career shutout for the Raptors, making three saves. Varrato finished with four saves.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Saturday when it faces New York University at 3:30 p.m. in the Stockton Classic at Stockton University in Galloway.