CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 25, 2023) – While it might seem odd to consider a two-game losing streak some momentum heading into the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs, the circumstances may say otherwise.
 
For the second straight game, the Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer team battled toe to toe with one of the top teams in the nation, only to fall by a 1-0 score.
 
The Scarlet Raptors gave 15th-ranked The College of New Jersey all it could handle here Wednesday night before falling to the Lions by a 1-0 margin. The loss comes on the heels of a 1-0 loss on Saturday at 14th-ranked Montclair State University.
 
TCNJ improved to 22-1 with 18 shutouts in its all-time series against Rutgers-Camden, including 19 consecutive wins.
 
The Scarlet Raptors end the regular season with an 8-8-1 overall record. They finished at 4-5 in the NJAC, with three of those defeats coming against national powers, and earned the fifth seen for the upcoming conference playoffs. Rutgers-Camden will play a 2 p.m. first-round game Saturday at fourth-seeded New Jersey City University. Although both teams finished with 12 points in the NJAC standings, the Gothic Knights earned the tie-breaker by defeating the Raptors, 2-1, on Oct. 4.
 
Tickets prices for all tournament games are $10 for adults, and $5 for children, students and senior citizens.
 
NJAC bracket
 
TCNJ, meanwhile, will be the second seed in the playoffs and earns a first-round bye. The Lions, 13-2-1 overall and 8-1 in the conference, will host a semifinal game at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of Saturday's Stockton at Montclair State first-round game.
 
Needing only a tie to wrestle the fourth seed away from NJCU, the Scarlet Raptors came ever so close to accomplishing that difficult task with one of their top performances of the year. Facing the most prolific offense in the conference and a team whose only blemishes on its record came against three nationally-ranked programs, the Scarlet Raptors' strong defense shut down the Lions in the opening half. The teams played to a scoreless halftime deadlock, despite TCNJ holding first-half advantages of 8-3 in shots and 5-0 in corner kicks.
 
It wasn't until early in the second half that TCNJ collected the only goal it needed. After a Raptor foul outside the box on the right side, junior back Rachel Burkhard sent a restart toward the far left post. Junior midfielder Victoria D'Imperio out-jumped everyone in the box to head a shot inside the left post. Her NJAC-leading 17th goal of the season came in the 48th minute.
 
Only a few minutes later, Rutgers-Camden thought it had tied the game. A free kick by sophomore back Tanasia Stevenson was denied on a fine save by Lions freshman goalie Bella Norman. Junior forward Emily Owens hit the rebound into the net, but an offsides call negated the goal.
 
TCNJ finished with an 18-5 advantage in shots, including a 6-3 margin in shots on goal. The Lions held a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Raptor senior goalie Kayla McKeever finished with five saves and was aided by a stellar defensive game from her teammates. Norman had three saves for the Lions.