NEWARK, N.J. – In a wild Wednesday night clash that featured five second-half goals and 36 total shots, Eastern Men's Soccer came up just short in a 4-3 thriller at Rutgers-Newark. The Scarlet Raiders scored the game-winner with just 27 seconds left on the clock, handing the Eagles a gut-wrenching road loss and dropping them to 0-3 on the season.
With the game tied in the final minute, Rutgers-Newark's Eann Vieira lofted a pinpoint cross to the back post, where Pablo Moreno was waiting. The forward didn't miss, burying the shot in the top-left corner to seal the win for the hosts in dramatic fashion.
The match opened with plenty of action. Rutgers-Newark struck first in the 6th minute as Ian Brown scored off a clean feed from Ethan Geronimo to give the Scarlet Raiders an early 1-0 lead.
Eastern responded with intensity, putting Rutgers-Newark under pressure with a barrage of nine shots in just under 20 minutes. Ilan Golden stood tall in goal for the Raiders, making five crucial saves to preserve the lead.
The Eagles broke through in the 33rd minute. Off a well-placed free kick from
João Tarabal,
Evan Cope's header deflected off a defender and fell perfectly to
Zach Sievert, who rifled home the equalizer into the top corner to level the score at 1-1.
The Eagles' midfield and front line controlled large stretches of the first half, generating dangerous chances and outshooting the Scarlet Raiders 12-8 before the break.
The second half brought fireworks.
Just 15 minutes in,
Manny Pak sent a beautiful cross into the box for Cope, who buried his first goal of the season to give Eastern a 2-1 advantage in the 60th minute.
From there, both teams traded blows in a nine-minute scoring frenzy. Rutgers-Newark responded twice to reclaim the lead, 3-2, before Sievert stepped up again, scoring in the 70th minute to tie things at 3-3. Sievert started the scoring sequence in the midfield, making a strong pass to Pak, and excellent ball movement between Pak, Cope, and Sievert resulted in Sievert's team-leading third goal of the campaign.
But with the final seconds ticking away, Rutgers-Newark found one last scoring chance — and stole the win at the death. Sievert led the Eagles with seven shots, six of which were on goal, while Cope finished with five shots, three of which were on target.
Eastern is back on the road Saturday in Bethlehem to take on the Moravian Greyhounds. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm.
