NEWARK N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) Freshman midfielder Mallensy Vargas (North Bergen, N.J./Memorial) scored unassisted twice and chased down her own rebound of a free kick and buried the golden goal game winner with just 21 seconds left in the first overtime as the New Jersey City University women's soccer team ended a multi-year New Jersey Athletic Conference winless streak with an exciting 2-1 win over Rutgers-Newark under the lights on September 28 at Alumni Field.
 
Vargas netted her seventh and eighth goals of the season to give NJCU (4-3-1, 1-2-0 NJAC) its first league victory since the 2012 season and snap a 36-game conference winless streak. RUN fell to 1-8-2 (0-3-0 NJAC).
 
Despite being outshot 22-9, junior goalkeeper Paula Viana (Elizabeth, N.J./Hamilton Prep Academy) kept the Gothic Knights alive with nine saves.
 
Meanwhile, it was the third time this season Vargas has scored at least two goals in a game. She had six of NJCU's nine shots and four of the five on goal. Vargas tied the game in the 42nd minute after Newark's Juliana Ceballos initially gave the Scarlet Raiders the 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.
 
Ceballos had 11 shots for Newark (six on goal) while Nicole Gomez, who assisted on RUN's only goal, had seven shots. Raiders keeper Diana Carvalho made four saves.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In the first half, Ceballos had several opportunities before Gomez had a breakaway slowed up by senior back Jubeth Buitrago (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus), allowing Viana to make a save. Earlier, Carvalho was forced to make saves in the seventh and 13th minutes.
 
Newark would finally break through at 34:45 as Gomez slipped a thru ball down the middle of the field and Ceballos would strike her third goal of the season into the upper right corner.
 
Seven minutes later, Vargas evened it. After receiving the ball, she showed off her footwork, driving down the middle of the field before blasting a shot into the upper right corner to tie the game at 41:38.
 
Tied at 1-1 at the half, the Raiders had a chance in the 60th minute when Gomez hit a shot off the crossbar before Viana knocked away the rebound. NJCU freshman forward

Liliana Ventura (West New York, N.J./Memorial) had a chance inside the 18 in the 72nd minute, forcing a save by Carvalho. Ceballos hit the crossbar with 4:49 remaining and Gomez struck a shot off the post 45 seconds later and the clubs went to overtime.
 
Vargas won it in the waning moments of the extra session. After she was fouled at the top of the box while streaking down the middle of the field, Vargas was awarded a free kick from about 22 yards out. Her set piece caromed off the wall, but she chased down the rebound and unleashed a game-winner into the upper right corner from the top right of the box.
 
#QUOTABLEKNIGHTS:
First-year head coach Anthony Tuesta on the win: "Today's win was a result of a complete team effort. All players left it on the field and gave it all they had. It's great to see how all of our hard work in training pays off in a conference game. We will continue to work hard and hopefully have more success in future NJAC games."
 
OF NOTE:

• 17th meeting. Rutgers-Newark leads all-time series, 14-3
• First NJAC win for NJCU since September 19, 2012 vs. Ramapo (3-2)
• First NJAC road win for NJCU since September 21, 2011 at Ramapo (3-1)
• NJCU snaps 36-game NJAC winless streak
• NJCU is 10-13-15 all-time in 38 overtime games.
• Rutgers-Newark scored for the first time since a 10-0 win over St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) on September 7. The Raiders had not scored in the previous seven games (719:05 scoreless streak) and had been shutout nine times, mostly against strong competition.
• Rutgers-Newark was playing its fourth overtime game of the season; the previous three went to double overtime. RUN is 0-2-2 in overtime games.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU continues its road trip on Saturday, October 1 at 5:30 p.m. when it faces William Paterson University at Pioneer Soccer Park in Wayne, N.J. The two schools played to a 0-0 double overtime draw last season in the season finale. WP leads the all-time series, 17-2-1.