Camden, NJ: Junior forward Rhyan Nelson (Manalapan, NJ/St. John Vianney) scored a pair of second-half goals to break open a tie game and lead the Rutgers University-Camden men's soccer team over Ramapo College, 4-1, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon.
The game was played in a cold rain at Rutgers-Camden Community Park. Junior midfielder Andrew Filewicz (Deptford, NJ/Northeast Catholic, PA) added a goal and two assists for the Scarlet Raptors, who hadn't scored four goals in one game since a 4-0 win over Alvernia on Sept. 5, 2008. The victory lifts Rutgers-Camden to 7-7-3 overall and 2-3-2 in the NJAC. Ramapo falls to 8-4-2 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play.
Nelson's first goal came at 63:37 to break a 1-1 tie. After Filewicz drilled a direct kick off the defensive wall, Nelson banged in the rebound from the top of the box. It was his second game-winning goal of the season. Nelson scored an insurance goal less than six minutes later, following a pair of perfect passes from freshman Casey Doyle (West Orange, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) and junior Turgut Kilicoglu (Edgewater Park, NJ/Burlington City). Doyle sent a perfect through ball to Kilicoglu, who crossed it from the right corner to Nelson near the left post for the goal.
Filewicz tacked on the final goal at 72:02, drilling a direct kick off the wall and deflecting into the goal. The wide-open second half was in direct contrast to the tight first half, when the teams played to a 1-1 draw at halftime. Rutgers-Camden broke the scoring ice at 24:11 when junior midfielder Shane McGrory (Laurel Springs, NJ/Sterling) lofted a perfect shot into the upper left corner, assisted by senior midfielder Jake Vollman (Stratford, NJ/Sterling).
Ramapo bounced back to tie the game at 29:36, starting with a pass from dangerous freshman forward
Rob Santaniello (Oakland, NJ/Ramapo) to junior forward
Francis Carr (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe). Carr sent a long cross through the box that bounced past Raptor sophomore keeper Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) to the left post, where it was finished by senior midfielder
Matt Fleissner (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood). It was the fifth goal of the season for Fleissner.
Ramapo held a 10-6 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes, while Rutgers-Camden had an 8-4 edge in the second half. The teams finished tied in shots, 14-14, while the Roadrunners held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
VanLiew made six saves in 80:39 of playing time. Sophomore Josh Rosen (Wheeling, IL/Wheeling), making his first appearance in goal for the Raptors, played the final 9:21 and collected a fine save off the dangerous Santaniello in the only shot against him. Ramapo senior keeper
Ian Tighe (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) made three saves.
The game also marked a program milestone as Raptor senior backs Tom Collins (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) and Chase Komer (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown), a pair of captains, played in their 84th game to tie the Rutgers-Camden career record set by Rodney Guishard (2004-2007).
Both teams return to action Wednesday with non-conference road games. Ramapo plays a 4 p.m. game at Western Connecticut State University. Rutgers-Camden travels to northern New Jersey to battle national powerhouse Stevens Institute of Technology at 8 p.m.
