News Release

OT goal by Gomez lifts Raptors to NJAC final

POMONA (Nov. 4, 2008) � Sophomore midfielder Matt Gomez (San Antonio, TX/Alamo Heights) scored the game-winning goal with only 1:08 remaining in double overtime as the third-seeded Rutgers University-Camden men�s soccer team edged second-seeded Richard Stockton College, 2-1, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoff semifinals here Tuesday night.

The victory was the 16th of the season for the Scarlet Raptors, setting a program record. More importantly, it lifted Rutgers-Camden into the NJAC Championship Game, where it will play at top-seeded Montclair State University at 7 p.m. Friday. The Red Hawks, a 3-1 semifinal winner over William Paterson University, are 19-0-0 and ranked No. 3 nationally. They defeated the Scarlet Raptors, 4-1, at Montclair State on October 4.

The trip to the NJAC title game will be the second in Rutgers-Camden program history. The Raptors lost the 2005 championship game at The College of New Jersey, 1-0.

Rutgers-Camden was forced to go to penalty kicks in its first-round win over New Jersey City University Saturday and the Scarlet Raptors almost headed to penalty kicks again. With only 1:08 remaining before a shootout, however, Gomez took a shot from just outside the box. The shot deflected off of a Stockton defender and floated over the head of Osprey keeper Matt Hart (Dayton, NJ/South Brunswick). It was the second goal of the season for Gomez, and his first game winner.

The victory helped the Raptors improve to 16-3-2, extending their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1). The 16 wins passed the previous program record of 15, shared by the teams in 2004 (15-2-4) and 2005 (15-5-1).

Richard Stockton, ranked No. 15 nationally, falls to 15-5-1. The Ospreys had defeated the Scarlet Raptors, 6-3, earlier in the season.

Rutgers-Camden grabbed a 1-0 lead at 26:06 when freshman forward Todd Kleinstuber (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) slipped a shot past Hart, assisted by junior midfielder Jake Vollman (Stratford, NJ/Sterling). It was the eighth goal of the season for Kleinstuber, tying him for the team lead with senior Andrew Dorsey (Mt. Laurel, NJ/The King�s Christian School).

The Raptors� lead didn�t last for long as the Ospreys tied the game at 32:21 off a corner kick from Sean Nelson (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South). Nelson�s corner kick got loose in the box and Mike Holmes (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) finished off the play, chipping in his second goal of the year.
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That goal was the first scored against Scarlet Raptor freshman keeper Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) since a 2-1 win over Rutgers-Newark on Oct. 15. Although it ended VanLiew�s program record-tying shutout streak at five, he was able to extend his streak of consecutive shutout minutes to 565:25 before it was snapped. That streak broke the program mark of 561:35 set by Jim Skene in 1981.

VanLiew finished with five saves, while Hart had three for Stockton.




Submitted 2008-11-06 07:04:56 by Rutgers University-Camden Sports Information Department

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