St. Joseph's Edges Scarlet Raiders For Classic Title, 1-0

NEWARK, NJ – St. Joseph's-LI (3-1-1) got the lone goal just before halftime and held on for a 1-0 win over host Rutgers-Newark in the championship game of the Scarlet Raider Soccer Classic.

BOX SCORES & PLAY-BY-PLAY
St. Joseph's LI 1, Rutgers-Newark 0
New Jersey City 0, Widener 0 (2OT)

Scarlet Raider freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Benoit made seven saves to keep things close, but sophomore forward Bethany Bianco headed in a rebound off the rookie keeper off of a free kick by sophomore defender Nicole Lyman with just 2:13 left in the opening half to spell the difference.

Classic MVP Kayla Flowers stopped two shots for the shutout victory while the Golden Eagles (3-1-1) constructed a 15-8 edge in shots. Rutgers-Newark got the edge in corner kicks, 5-3.

Freshman midfielder Mercedes Lois, junior midfielder Kathy Jironza and junior defender Diana Catarino were named to the All-Classic squad for the Raiders.

In the day's opening match, New Jersey City and Widener battled to a scoreless tie on a wet turf surface.

Gothic Knight sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Hoffman made 11 saves to offset a 24-16 deficit in shots by NJCU. Widener out-shot NJCU 10-2 in the two overtime periods – including 7-0 in the final period.

Pride junior goalkeeper Valarie Perretti made four saves to post a shutout.

TEAM CHAMPIONS: St. Joseph's LI
MVP: Kayla Flowers (SJC)
ALL-CLASSIC TEAM: Samantha Garcia (SJC), Bethany Bianco (SJC), Elizabeth Pulaski (SJC), Mercedes Lois (R-N), Diana Catarino (R-N), Kathy Jironza (R-N), Stephanie Dickinson (Widener), Nicole Repetto (Widener), Brittany Hoffman (NJC), Brianna Taylor (NJC).

(Game story by Rutgers-Newark Athletic Communications)