Camden, NJ – Montclair State University sophomore
MIKE TARANTO headed home a corner kick by sophomore
KYLE GOODWIN 3:29 into the first overtime period to lift the nationally-ranked Red Hawks over Rutgers University-Camden, 2-1, in a wild and card-filled New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
The Red Hawks, ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA Division III Top 25 and No. 3 in the
D3soccer.com poll, improve to 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the NJAC, while the Scarlet Raptors fall to 9-6-1 and 4-3 with their third straight loss. The Raptors' last three-game losing streak came Sept. 25-Oct. 2, 2010.
The Red Hawks have won their last three games against the Raptors and own a 21-11-5 lead in the all-time series.
After both teams had chances to break the scoring drought during the intense game, Montclair State was finally given a golden chance with 5:13 remaining when a Raptor trip in the box resulted in a penalty kick by freshman Rafel Terci.
Terci's shot, however, was smothered by Rutgers-Camden freshman keeper James Brett on a dive to his left, keeping the game scoreless.
Moments later, Terci did his damage from the top of the box, turning on a loose ball and firing in his third goal of the season. The tally came with only 4:02 remaining in regulation.
Rutgers-Camden, however, was given a penalty kick with 1:01 remaining following a foul in the Montclair State box, and senior forward Mike Ryan converted the shot for his 16th goal of the season. Ryan's goal also ended a long scoring drought for the Scarlet Raptors at 272:48. The Raptors hadn't scored since a tally by Shane Guyer late in a 5-1 win over Ramapo College Oct. 10.
Early in the first overtime, Montclair State's Goodwin took a corner kick from the right side and lofted a ball toward the far left post. Taranto headed in the winning goal from a crowd.
The Red Hawks finished with a 20-10 advantage in shots, while Rutgers-Camden had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Both Brett and MSU freshman goalie Mik Saalfrank made six saves.
Montclair State returns to action Wednesday with a non-conference game in North Adams, Massachusetts, playing Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at 3 p.m.
