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Tyler Cignarella

Men's Soccer

TCNJ battles Rutgers-Camden to 1-1 draw

Junior Tyler Cignarella played solid defense for TCNJ.
Box score

Ewing, NJ...  The College of New Jersey men's soccer team battled 16th-ranked Rutgers University-Camden to a 1-1 draw in New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night in Lions' Stadium.
 
The Lions (4-4-2, 0-2-2) earned a valuable point in the standings as the Scarlet Raptors (8-2-1, 3-0-1) entered the game with an unblemished league record.
 
Junior Kevin Shaw (Brookside, NJ/West Morris Mendham) scored a first-half goal for the Lions off an assist from junior Taylor Gregory (Sea Girt, NJ/Wall).
 
TCNJ dominated play in the opening half, outshooting Rutgers University-Camden 9-3. Senior Ed Kozic (Raritan, NJ/Immaculata) nearly gave the Lions a lead in the 26th minute when he bent a shot over the keeper that hit the crossbar and came down just outside the goal line.
 
On the ensuing corner kick, Gregory sent a low ball to Shaw at the top of the box, and he promptly ripped a shot into the left pocket of the net for a 1-0 lead. It was his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
 
The Scarlet Raptors tied the game up at the 57:14 mark as freshman Eric Cutry (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee) netted his first career goal. He took a feed and fired a shot from short range that was initially stopped , but by Lions' goalkeeper Aaron Utman (Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley). But Cutry flicked in the rebound to knot the game at one.
 
Both teams had quality chances through the second half, but the game remained deadlocked at the end of regulation. The overtime periods drew excitement, but the scoring opportunities were limited as the game concluded in a 1-1 tie. Sophomore Sean Casey (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) played well for TCNJ, while RUC sophomore Mitch Grotti (Milmay, NJ/Millville) was a threat up top all game.
 
Utman had two saves and combined with junior Adam Friedman (Chester, NJ/West Morris Mendham) for the tie. Rutgers-Camden goalkeeper Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) had four saves in the game.
 
TCNJ held a 16-13 advantage in shots and are now 0-1-1 in overtime games. Rutgers-Camden is 1-0-1 when contests go to overtime.
 
The Lions visit Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday in another conference match-up. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start.
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