CAMDEN, N.J. (Sept. 27, 2023) – Soccer games in the rugged New Jersey Athletic Conference are typically high-intensity games, and both Rutgers University-Camden and Ramapo College brought plenty of fire in a tough NJAC battle here Wednesday night.
In a game that featured 19 fouls, five yellow cards – including a double yellow for an ejection – and numerous near misses and great goalie play, it was freshman midfielder
Matt Conger who proved to be the difference for the Scarlet Raptors.
Conger's first career goal, coming in the 76th minute, gave Rutgers-Camden a 1-0 victory over Ramapo and moved the Scarlet Raptors to 7-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the NJAC. It was the fourth straight win for Rutgers-Camden, the team's longest winning streak since opening the 2019 season with four victories, and gave the Raptors a 4-0-1 record in their last five games.
Ramapo fell to 2-4-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
Moments after one of the Roadrunners received a pair of yellow cards at the same time – one for unsportsmanlike play and one for profanity – the Scarlet Raptors broke a scoreless deadlock. Conger took a long shot from the right corner and put it inside the far left panel for the winning goal at 75:03. He was assisted by freshman
Jason Angel with his team-leading fourth assist.
That lead wasn't without several more anxious moments for both teams. The Raptors nearly added another tally near the goal line before Ramapo freshman keeper Zachary Natt smothered a loose ball. On the other end, Raptor junior keeper
Sean Boen made the type of huge saves that helped him earn All-NJAC honors last season.
Both teams also missed a few golden opportunities. Rutgers-Camden finished with a 14-12 edge in shots, including a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. Natt finished with eight saves. Boen had five saves while recording his sixth shutout of the season and lowering his goals-against average to a stingy 0.81.
Both teams had six corner kicks apiece.
Rutgers-Camden returns to NJAC play Saturday when it hosts New Jersey City University at 1 p.m.
