CAMDEN, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University sophomore Mohamed Elamin (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris) put away a loose ball in the 64th minute to give the Gothic Knights a 1-0 lead on the road. But perennial New Jersey Athletic Conference power Rutgers University-Camden would respond, tying it in the 75th minute and going ahead in the 80th before holding off NJCU, 3-1, in NJAC men's soccer on September 21 at Rutgers-Camden Community Park.
 
NJCU (1-7, 0-1 NJAC, lost 5), playing its 2015 conference opener, took an opponent to the half scoreless for the fourth time this season and second straight game, despite being outshot in the opening 45 minutes, 13-2, and 22-7 overall. Rutgers-Camden, ranked No. 24 by D3soccer.com, improved to 6-1-1 and 2-0 in the league.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Anthony Moyano (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech), making just his second career start, kept NJAC preseason No. 2 voted Camden off the board for more than 74 minutes. Of note, he made a terrific, point-blank save in the 25th minute against Scarlet Raptor senior Mike Ryan, a two-time NSCAA All-American (2012 Third Team, 2013 First Team), from eight yards away. Moyano made four of his six saves in the first half.
 
Elamin put NJCU in front at 63:11 when he put away a rebound of a diving save by Camden keeper James Brett off a restart. Senior forward Nicholas O'Neill (Eatontown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) was credited with his first assist and point of the season for knocking the ball loose.
 
But Ryan would eventually cash in for the Raptors with his seventh goal of the season at the 74:08 mark, putting away a chip into the box from Vincenzo Masitti. Less than six minutes later, midfielder Connor Hurff netted his sixth goal of the season off a Juan Rojas assist and the Raptors, up 2-1 at 79:41, wouldn't trail again.
 
RUC added an insurance goal with 65 seconds remaining when Brett's unleashed a long, booming punt and Brad Maine ran onto it, finishing from the right side for the final margin. Brett made two saves to win for RUC.
 
Ryan had an incredible half of Camden's shots—11 of 22—and the forward put five on goal. Hurff had five shots for the hosts. Senior forward Tyler Krychkowski (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) was the lone Gothic Knight with multiple shots (two).
 
QUOTABLE:
Head Coach Patrick Snyder (fourth season): "I was so proud of the way we battled. The boys gave everything they had. Camden is a good team."
 
OF NOTE:

• Rutgers-Camden leads the all-time series, 23-8-8. RUC owns a 9-0-4 record in the last 13 meetings.

• NJCU has gone to halftime scoreless four times: 9/4/2015 vs. John Jay, 9/12/15 vs. #1 Christopher Newport, 9/19/15 at NYU and 9/21/15 at Rutgers-Camden. NJCU has lost all four games.
• It was NJCU's third time playing on Camden's home field this season. NJCU also played Christopher Newport (September 12) and Manhattanville (September 13) in the Cialella Soccer Classic, hosted by Rutgers-Camden.
• The game was originally scheduled for September 26 but a change of date was necessitated by the visit to Philadelphia that weekend by Pope Francis.
• RUC is ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA South Atlantic Region as of September 15. The Scarlet Raptors also received 112 points in last week's D3soccer.com National Poll—equivalent to a No. 28 national listing. New polls that would include this game are expected to be announced on September 22.
• Rutgers-Camden was voted No. 2 in the NJAC's preseason coaches Top 10 poll and received two No. 1 votes.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
Yet another tall test awaits NJCU on Wednesday, September 23 at 3 p.m. when the Knights host preseason NJAC favorite (six votes) Montclair State University at the Robert L. McNulty Memorial Soccer Field. MSU (7-1), the defending NJAC champion and winners of five of the last nine league titles since 2006, will be playing their first conference game of the season. Montclair won last year's meeting, 2-0, in Montclair, NJ (September 24, 2014). The Red Hawks lead the all-time series, 47-11-3, and have won the last five meetings.
 
Montclair was ranked No. 5 nationally by D3soccer.com (September 15 poll), No. 9 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and No. 2 in the South Atlantic Region, but those rankings may change tomorrow as the result of MSU's 2-1 loss to Oneonta State on September 19.