NEWBURGH, NY – Rutgers-Newark sophomore Jeff Vazquez (New Milford, N.J.) scored a pair of goals on Wednesday evening, the second as the game-winner in the 89th minute, as the Scarlet Raiders defeated Mount Saint Mary College in non-conference action by a score of 3-2. Rutgers-Newark improved to 8-6 overall while the Mount dropped to 3-7.

After missing a golden opportunity to break a 2-2 tie just a few minutes earlier, Vazquez didn't miss his second chance. Freshman Chris Roncancio (Clifton, N.J.) found Vazquez in the middle of the field and he drilled a shot to the far post to beat a diving goalkeeper. The goal came with under 100 seconds to play in the game.

Trailing by two goals at the end of a well-played first half, Mount Saint Mary finally broke through on the scoreboard when freshman Agustin Ponce (Buenos Aries, Argentina) tallied the first goal of his collegiate career. In the 48th minute, Ponce received a pass from senior Francis Amarteifio (Accra, Ghana) and his shot deflected high in the air off of a sliding defender. The ball bounced inside the six-yard box and then into the top netting of the goal as a Rutgers-Newark defender failed to touch it on the bounce.

The Blue Knights tied things up in the 63rd minute when sophomore Paul Zegers (Levittown, N.Y.) put home his first collegiate goal. After a strange hop in the box, senior Jon Gasiewski (New Milford, Conn.) touched the ball to Zegers who scooted a shot underneath the keeper.

The Scarlet Raiders dominated the rest of the half leading up to the game-winner, outshooting the Blue Knights 8-0 in the final twenty-seven minutes.

Rutgers-Newark opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Vazquez put the ball into an empty net. The Mount Saint Mary goalkeeper rushed up to a pass from senior Dominic Principato (Linden, N.J.), but didn't get there in time, allowing Vazquez to collect the ball and score easily for a 1-0 lead.

The Scarlet Raiders tallied again in the 34th minute to make the score 2-0. Sophomore Christian Vlahinich (Montvale, N.J.) took a pass from the left side and found the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

Mount Saint Mary received a huge spark from sophomore goalkeeper Pat McGinnis (Binghamton, N.Y.) who entered the game at the start of the second half. McGinnis made eight saves and kept the Blue Knights in the game in the face of increasing pressure from the Scarlet Raiders. He made two spectacular saves, one jumping up to catch a shot that was labeled for just under the crossbar and the other with his chest while rushing out to meet the play.

The Blue Knights return to their Skyline Conference schedule this weekend as they host Old Westbury. The game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 11.