CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 14, 2023) – On a rainy, raw day at the Camden Athletic Complex here Saturday, almost everything was equal between the Rutgers University-Camden and Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer teams.
 
The only difference was a second-chance shot by Scarlet Raptor sophomore forward Maresa Savarese, and that was enough to lift Rutgers-Camden over Rutgers-Newark, 1-0, in a soggy New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
The victory lifted the Scarlet Raptors to 7-6-1 overall and 3-3 in the NJAC, while the Scarlet Raiders fell to 5-10 overall and 1-5 in NJAC play. Although Camden leads the all-time series, 15-4-5, the victory was the Raptors' first over Newark since Oct. 12, 2019, snapping a 0-1-2 streak.
 
Both attacks finished with 12 shots, while the Scarlet Raiders had a 7-6 edge in corner kicks. The statistics were as close as a shot by Rutgers-Newark early in the second half of a scoreless game. Junior midfielder Leila Ettayebi hit a long shot off the left post of the Raptor goal in the 51st minute, keeping the score knotted at 0-0.
 
With the clock winding into the 82nd minute of what seemed destined for a scoreless tie, Savarese took charge for the Scarlet Raptors. Her shot from the right side was denied on a fine stop by Newark junior goalie Katie McLaughlin, but her punch save rebounded right to Savarese, who didn't miss her second chance. The Scarlet Raptors' leading scorer buried a shot into the far left side of the goal at 81:07. It was her team-leading seventh goal of the season, including her second game winner.
 
McLaughlin finished with seven saves for Rutgers-Newark, while Rutgers-Camden senior keeper Kayla McKeever notched six saves to earn her third shutout of the season.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to NJAC play Wednesday with a 5 p.m. game at Stockton University.