CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 1, 2022) – Just when it appeared that the Rutgers University-Camden and New Jersey City University women's soccer teams were headed for a scoreless halftime deadlock, Scarlet Raptor senior co-captain Lindsay Hernandez came up big again.
 
Hernandez, an all-conference midfielder, curled in a corner kick to the far right post with 13 seconds remaining in the opening half and the Scarlet Raptors went on to defeat the Gothic Knights, 3-1, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday.
 
The victory was the fourth in five games for Rutgers-Camden and evened the team record at 4-4-1 overall. The Scarlet Raptors also improved to 3-0 in the NJAC, where they are tied for first place in the conference.
 
NJCU balls to 3-5-3 overall and 0-3 in the NJAC.
 
Rutgers-Camden padded its lead in the 60th minute, thanks to a perfect through ball by senior midfielder Maggie Horn, who sprung freshman forward Maresa Savarese for a breakaway. Savarese worked her way around NJCU freshman goalie Lorraine Valenzuela, who came charging out of the net in an attempt to stop the 1-on-1 with Savarese. The Raptor freshman finished off her third goal of the season, tying for the team lead with sophomore Hannah Crowley.
 
That goal also turned out to be the second game-winning goal for Savarese, as the Gothic Knights scored a goal with 2:18 remaining to cut the gap to 2-1. Junior forward Kim Brites scored from net the far post off a corner kick by freshman Nyrohah Alvarenga.
 
NJCU pushed for the game-tying goal, but Rutgers-Camden caught the Gothic Knights keying on their attack. Horn once again passed a long ball into the offensive end, this time springing sophomore forward Josie Jackson-Conner for the clinching goal. Jackson-Conner chipped her second goal of the season into an empty net with 17 seconds remaining.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished with an 11-10 advantage in shots, while NJCU held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. All five Gothic Knight corner kicks came in the second half.
 
Sophomore goalie Michaela Graham made four saves to earn the victory and even her season record at 2-2. ;Valenzuela made two saves for NJCU.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Goucher College in a 4:30 p.m. non-conference game.