GALLOWAY, N.J. (Sept. 5, 2021) – The Rutgers University-Camden goal barrage came quickly in the second half of its Stockton Classic game against Gwynedd Mercy University here Sunday. When the smoke had cleared, the Scarlet Raptors not only owned a 7-0 victory, but they had created several new entries in the NCAA Division III record book.
 
 

Sophomore George Louis-Ferdinand scored a second-half hat trick in a span of 1:26 and senior Skyler Diggs added a pair of goals 19 seconds apart after the break to power the Scarlet Raptors. In the other game of the day, New York University blanked host Stockton University, 4-0.
 
Both the Scarlet Raptors and the Violets went 1-0-1 in the tournament after playing to a 0-0 draw on Saturday. Rutgers-Camden is now 2-0-1 in the young season, posting shutouts in all three games.
 
Louis-Ferdinand scored goals at 77:08, 77:18 and 78:34, a span of 1:26 for the second-fastest three consecutive goals by the same player in NCAA Division III history. The fastest, at 1:09, was Mike Pepe of Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 10, 1992. Louis-Ferdinand's quick hat trick also was the third-fastest All-Division consecutive goals by a NCAA player, including Valparaiso's Kendan Anderson, who set the Division I record of 1:21 on Oct. 31, 2016.
 
The records didn't stop there. Louis-Ferdinand's two goals 10 seconds apart tied the Division III mark for consecutive goals by the same player, shared by two other players, Cazz Warren of Adrian (Sept. 11, 2009) and Luis Peralta of Emory & Henry (Sept. 1, 2011).
 
The first two of Louis-Ferdinand's goals were unassisted, while senior midfielder Luis Rivadeneira assisted on the third tally. The hat trick was the first at Rutgers-Camden since Diggs scored one against Penn State-Abington on Oct. 23, 2019. The goals were the first three tallies of the year for Louis-Ferdinand.
 
Diggs, meanwhile, scored his two goals in a 19-second span at 69:50 and 70:09. He is tied for the 12th-fastest consecutive goals by the same player in NCAA Division III history. His first two goals of the year raised his career mark to 34 goals, sixth on the program's career list, and hiked his career point total to 73 (tied for seventh).
 
Louis-Ferdninand's goals also helped the Scarlet Raptors climb onto the NCAA Division III charts for the fifth-fastest consecutive three goals by a team (1:26) and tie for the fifth-fastest consecutive goals by a team (0:10).
 
Senior forward Khari Shepherd got the Raptors rolling in the 25th minute, tapping in a cross from freshman back Mark Schuhl. It was the second goal of the season for Shepherd and the first career point for Schuhl. Shepherd also collected an assist on the first goal by Diggs.
 
Senior co-captain Parker Solowey made it a 2-0 game at 38:34, scoring off a free kick for his first goal of the season.
 
Freshman keeper Sean Boen made his collegiate debut and picked up the win, making the Raptors' lone save of the game while playing most of the game. He was replaced with 7:11 remaining by another freshman making his collegiate debut, Nick Schilling.
 
Rutgers-Camden held a 31-2 advantage in shots and a 13-1 margin in corner kicks. Gwynedd Mercy keepers John Wagner and Shaine Kirby combined for 11 saves.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Alvernia University at 7 p.m.