Rutgers-Camden edged by nationally-ranked Swarthmore

September 4, 2011

SWARTHMORE, Penn. (September 4, 2011) – The Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors went toe-to-toe with one of the top Division III men’s soccer teams in the country here Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the Garnet Alumni Classic. Mitch Grotti

In the end, host Swarthmore College outlasted Rutgers-Camden, 2-1 on a pair of second-half goals. The Garnet, ranked No. 8 nationally in the preseason d3soccer.com poll and No. 20 in the NSCAA/adidas Division III poll, improve to 2-0. The Scarlet Raptors fall to 1-1.

The Raptors took an early lead at 6:07 on a goal by sophomore forward Mitch Grotti (Milmay, NJ/Millville). Grotti, the team-leading scorer with 10 goals last year, scored his first of the season off a deflected shot in front of the net, following the block of a shot by senior midfielder Chris Edelschein (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee).

Rutgers-Camden held onto that lead until sophomore midfielder Jack Momeyer (New York, NY/UNIS) knotted the equalizer at 50:46. He scored from in front of the net off a pass from senior forward David Sterngold (Muncy, PA/Muncy).
The Garnet scored the winning goal on an unassisted tally by senior midfielder Fabian Castro (Houston, TX/Lamar) at 74:38.

Swarthmore out-shot Rutgers-Camden, 16-12, but the Scarlet Raptors held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks in the game.

Raptor senior goalie Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) made one save and the Raptors also had a pair of backsaves in the game. Swarthmore senior keeper David D’Annunzio (Piedmont, CA/Piedmont) had four saves.

VanLiew, Grotti and sophomore back Bobby Foster (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) were the three Rutgers-Camden players named to the all-tournament team.

Rutgers-Camden plays its home opener Wednesday with a 7 p.m. contest against Cabrini College.