Courtesy Rutgers-Newark Sports Information

NEWARK, N.J. – Rutgers-Newark blanked a stubborn St. Joseph's LI, 4-0, in the opening round of the ECAC D-III Men's Soccer Championship opening round on Alumni Field.

Box Score

Three late goals broke open a defensive struggle as Golden Eagle junior goalkeeper Chris Muhs (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon HS) made 14 saves to keep things close despite a 33-12 advantage in shots by the Scarlet Raiders (12-8-2).  Junior goalkeeper Jonathan Frances (Chandler, AZ/Hamilton) posted his seventh shutout of the season for the Raiders by making just two stops.

Freshman forward Diego Moraes (Newark, NJ/Science Park) took a cross from the middle of the box from senior midfielder Richie Villamar (Paterson, NJ/Paramus Catholic) and fired a shot from the left side into the far side of the net just 4:25 into the match.  But that would be the only goal scored until the 83rd minute.

The Raiders hit the crossbar twice and Muhs notched 14 saves to send the contest into the 10 minutes at 1-0.

Sophomore forward Joshua Alvarez (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) tallied back-to-back goals in just over four minutes to give the Raiders some breathing room before freshman forward Valdrin Seci (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) curled in a beautiful shot from the left side into the right side of the net  with just 1:36 left for the finishing touch.

Alvarez collected the ball just outside the 18, spun to his right around a defender and fired a shot into the right side of the goal in the 83rd minute to make it 2-0.  Four minutes later, junior midfielder Nick Kyprianou (Morganville, NJ/Marlboro) sent a 45-yard free kick to the center of the net just below the crossbar.  Muhs batted the ball away, but Alvarez was there to put away the ball and the match.

Fourth-seeded Rutgers-Newark advances to Saturday's semifinal round to take on top-seeded Drew University in Ranger Stadium in Madison.  Third-seeded Richard Stockton (12-6-4) ousted Sage Colleges (11-8-1), 4-2, in the other opening round contest to advance to Saturday's play against second-seeded William Paterson (13-4-3).  Rutgers-Newark and Drew square off at 1 p.m. with Stockton and Paterson battling at 3:30.  The winners play for the title at 1 p.m. Sunday in Madison.
 
The New Jersey Athletic Conference advances three teams to the semifinals, and Rutgers-Newark returns to repeat its semifinal match up against top-seeded Drew in Ranger Stadium.  The Rangers took a 3-0 decision last November.