A key part of the Rutgers-Camden defense, Mike Naylor helps the Scarlet Raptors form a wall in front of the goal with his stellar play at center back. Naylor became a full-time starter during his junior year and helped Rutgers-Camden post eight shutouts and a team 1.01 goals-against average for the season, despite playing 15 games against teams that were either ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes to the Top 25.
In 58 career games with the Raptors, Naylor has 23 starts, two goals and one assist for five points. One of his goals was a game winner.
Soccer 2015: Played 22 games, including 20 starts, at center back…Collected one goal for two points…Took three shots, one on goal…Made possibly the biggest backsave of the season when he headed the potential game-tying goal clear of the net with 1:38 remaining to preserve a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Rowan University (Sept. 30)…Played in all eight of the Raptors’ shutouts, starting the last seven…Made his season debut playing 54 minutes in a 9-0 shutout over Rosemont College (Sept. 1) and added 68 minutes of playing time in a 2-1 win over St. Mary’s (Sept. 5)…Started all 20 of his games the rest of the season, beginning with a 3-2 win over Manhattanville College (Sept. 12) at the Cialella Soccer Classic, when he took his first shot of the season…Turned in a stellar defensive effort against the nation’s top-ranked team, Christopher Newport University (Sept. 13) as the Raptors played to a 0-0 tie in double overtime…Scored his second career goal in a 7-1 victory over Misericordia University (Sept. 23), collecting a tally at 23:38 for the Raptors’ fifth goal of the game…Helped Rutgers-Camden close the regular season with back-to-back 2-0 shutouts over Rutgers-Newark (Oct. 24) and Stockton (Oct. 29) to earn the third seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament…In the Raptors’ three conference playoff games, on the way to their fourth NJAC title in five years, helped to limit the potent trio of opponents to only one goal in wins over Rutgers-Newark (2-1, Oct. 31) and Stockton (2-0, Nov. 4), along with a 0-0 deadlock against No. 3-ranked Montclair State, in which the Raptors posted a 5-4 penalty kick victory to capture the conference crown…Helped shut down a strong Eastern University team (Nov. 14) in a 2-1 victory in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, holding the Eagles scoreless from the flow of play – their only goal came on a penalty kick…Led the Raptors into the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to SUNY-Oneonta, 2-0 (Nov. 15), a team which advanced to the Final Four and lost on penalty kicks to eventual national champion Amherst College.
Soccer 2014: Appeared in 19 games, starting one…Notched his first career goal and added an assist for three points…Took six shots…His goal, a header off a corner kick by Joe Auleta, proved to be the game-winning tally in a 2-1 victory over Rutgers-Newark (Oct. 25)…One game earlier, he posted his first career assist, aiding Mike Ryan’s game-winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Swarthmore College (Oct. 22)…For his contributions in those games, he was honored as Rutgers-Camden’s Raptor of the Week October 27…Made his lone start of the season in the New Jersey Athletic Conference semifinals as the Raptors defeated Rutgers-Newark, 3-1, on Nov. 4 to earn their fourth straight berth in the NJAC final…Contributed to both the quarterfinal and semifinal ECAC Div. III Metro/Upstate Men’s Soccer Championship wins as the Scarlet Raptors beat Sage Colleges (2-1, Nov. 12) and New York University (1-0, Nov. 15) on their way to the ECAC crown.
Mike Naylor celebrates after headng in his first career goal, which proved to be the winner in a 2-1 triumph over Rutgers-Newark on October 25, 2014
Soccer 2013: Played in 17 games, starting two…Took seven shots, four on goal…Made collegiate debut in a 5-0 win over Eastern Mennonite University (Sept. 7) in the Raptors’ opener at their own Cialella Soccer Classic…Made his first start and played a season-high 89 minutes in a 3-1 victory over William Paterson University (Oct. 19)…Also started the next game as the Raptors blanked Cairn University (Oct. 22), 2-0…Helped the Raptors blank 10 opponents as Rutgers-Camden tied a program record with 12 shutouts during the season…Helped team post a 23-1-2 record, earn its third straight New Jersey Athletic Conference title, make its first appearance in the NCAA Division III championship game and finish the season ranked No. 2 nationally by both the NSCAA and the
D3soccer.com polls.
High School: Captured four varsity letters in soccer and three in baseball at Overbrook High School, playing for coaches Scott Viereck and Chuck Marciano…Colonial Conference Liberty Division Second Team as a junior and senior in soccer…Team captain during junior and senior seasons…Spotlight Student People’s Choice Award…Star student award…Career Education Award….Highest GPA in Career Education.
Personal: Born October 9, 1994…Nicknamed “Nails”…Played club soccer for the Cherry Hill FC Phoenix 94, helping his team finish third in the state…Enjoys hanging out with friends and family…Wears an armband under his sleeve in honor of his grandfather… Named to the Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the 2016 spring semester…Education major at Rutgers-Camden who plans to become a high school physical education teacher and coach high school and club soccer…Mike is the son of Colleen Naylor of Pine Hill.
