CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 22, 2025) – During her first two seasons with the Rutgers University-Camden women's soccer team, senior Maresa Savarese was the Scarlet Raptors' most feared offensive threat, but after missing all of last season with an injury, she was still looking for her first goal this year.
 
She found it at a big time and as a result, the Scarlet Raptors rallied past William Paterson University, 2-1, here Wednesday night in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
The win lifts Rutgers-Camden to 3-6-7 overall and right in the thick of the NJAC playoff face with a 2-3-2 conference mark. The Scarlet Raptors jumped from a three-way tie for seventh place in the NJAC entering the game to a two-way tie for fifth place. The top six teams qualify for the NJAC playoffs.
 
Paterson, which had been locked in that seventh-place tie with Rutgers-Camden and New Jersey City entering the game, fell to 6-8-2 overall and 1-4-2 in the conference.
 
Rutgers-Camden is now 9-11-5 in its all-time series against William Paterson.
 
Although the Scarlet Raptors had the edge in play during the first half, it was the Pioneers that had the edge on the scoreboard. Junior back Kira Collum found the net from a scrum of players at the far post in the 36th minute, completing a play that started with a corner kick by junior midfielder Maria Funiciello.
 
Rutgers-Camden didn't waste any time tying the game in the second half as sophomore Ashlee Schlagenhaft drilled a shot from the right side into the back left panel at 48:51. It was the first goal of the season for Schlagenhaft and helped Rutgers-Camden keep the pressure on the Paterson defense.
 
Rutgers-Camden's pressure paid off in the 80th minute when Savarese took a feed from sophomore Victoria Piteri and laced a shot into the net for her first goal this season. It was her 13th career goal and proved to be her fifth career game-winning goal. It was the first career assist for Piteri, who is second on the team in scoring this season with one goal and one assist for three points.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished with a 16-4 advantage in shots, including 10-1 in the second half. Paterson had a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.
 
Raptor freshman goalie Giselle Lizardi earned the win with one save, along with several occasions where she snuffed out dangerous Paterson chances. Paterson senior keeper Sarah Mantilla finished with nine saves as the Scarlet Raptors held an 11-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Scarlet Raptors return to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. NJAC home game against Kean University.