MONTCLAIR, N.J. (November 2, 2022) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer team throttled one of the top Division III offenses in the country for 110 minutes here Wednesday night while playing nationally-ranked Montclair State University to a 0-0 tie in the New Jersey Athletic Conference semifinals.
 
Since one team had to advance to Saturday's NJAC championship game, however, penalty kicks were the deciding factor. That was enough for the top-seeded Red Hawks to squeak past the Scarlet Raptors by a 5-4 PK margin.
 
The Scarlet Raptors, seeded fifth in the NJAC tournament, close their season with a 4-8-6 overall record, setting a single-season program record for ties. The previous high for ties came during an 11-8-4 campaign in 2007.
 
Four of Rutgers-Camden's loses, and Wednesday's tie, came against teams ranked in the national Top 25, including a 0-1-1 mark against Montclair State. The Scarlet Raptors lost 3-0 against the Red Hawks on Oct. 22 in Camden.
 
The Red Hawks, ranked 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Division III Top 25 poll and 13th in the D3soccer.com Top 25 poll, improve to 16-1-1. They will host second-seeded Rowan University in the NJAC championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. Rowan edged third-seeded The College of New Jersey, 1-0, in Wednesday's other semifinal.
 
Montclair State entered the game outscoring opponents, 45-9, and holding a 326-107 advantage in shots over its opponents this season. Until the Scarlet Raptors shut the Red Hawks out over 110 minutes, Rowan was the only other team to hold Montclair State scoreless, coming in a 1-0 win by the Profs in Glassboro on October 8.
 
The Rutgers-Camden defense limited the Red Hawks to only three shots in the scoreless opening half, while the Raptors managed only one shot by sophomore midfielder Alyson Petro. The Red Hawks managed only two shots on goal, and both were saved by Scarlet Raptor junior keeper Kayla McKeever.
 
Throughout regulation and the two 10-minute overtime periods, Montclair State held a 14-3 advantage in shots, including 7-1 in shots on goal. The Red Hawks had a 5-1 lead in corner kicks, but McKeever and the Scarlet Raptor defense were up to the task. McKeever made seven saves, while MSU senior keeper Haley Martin had one.
 
In the penalty kick shootout, both teams made all their shots except for the Scarlet Raptors' second shot, which missed high to the right. Montclair State, shooting second, notched goals from Emmi DeNovellis, Kimberly Campbell, Aileen Cahill, Kerri Driscoll and the clinching shot from Niki Danz. The Scarlet Raptors received their four penalty kicks from freshman Maresa Savarese and sophomores Emily Owens, Hannah Crowley and Amy Maurer.