Rutgers-Newark beats New Paltz 3-2 in NJAC quarterfinal overtime

Vieira’s Overtime Winner Pushes Rutgers-Newark Past New Paltz Into NJAC Semifinals

Saturday afternoon at Frederick Douglass Field looked headed for a standard home-field victory before a chaotic final minute upended the script. Rutgers-Newark controlled the opening half of its New Jersey Athletic Conference quarterfinal against SUNY New Paltz, building a comfortable two-goal advantage that looked secure right up until the closing seconds of regulation. Instead, a late surge by the Hawks forced an extra period, leaving the Scarlet Raiders to settle the match in sudden death.

According to rutgersnewarkathletics.com, Augusto Vieira delivered the decisive blow in the 99th minute, finishing a pass from Michael Reis to secure a 3-2 overtime victory. The win improves the Scarlet Raiders to 9-3-5 on the season and books them a spot in the next round of the tournament.

Building and Losing a Two-Goal Lead

For the first seventy minutes of the match, the hosts appeared firmly in control. Ali Celik opened the scoring in the 16th minute, converting a setup from Chihiro Suenaga. Ian Brown extended that lead to 2-0 in the 37th minute with an assist credited to Noah Russon.

New Paltz refused to fold. The visitors broke through in the 68th minute to cut the deficit in half, establishing sustained pressure as regulation wound down. With just 33 seconds left on the clock, an own goal leveled the score at 2-2 and forced the match into overtime.

Despite the sudden momentum shift, Rutgers-Newark regrouped quickly in the extra session. Vieira’s game-winner sealed the outcome, capping an afternoon where he led the team with three shots. Goalkeeper David Bejarano played all 98 minutes and 5 seconds, collecting one save to anchor the victory.

Traveling to Face the Top Seed

The postseason road now gets considerably steeper. The Scarlet Raiders must travel to face top-seeded Montclair State on Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m., with a berth in the NJAC Championship game hanging in the balance.