Photo courtesy of Ramapo College of New Jersey
The Ramapo College women’s soccer team traveled to Camden this past Saturday where they met the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors. The Roadrunners fell to the Scarlet Raptors, 2-0, in a conference game leaving their NJAC record at 1-6, and their overall record at 2-11.
The Roadrunners began the game at a glacial pace, with little to no action from them in the first half, except one shot by sophomore Cailey McGloin that flew wide right. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Raptors collected one goal early in the seventh minute of the game.
The Roadrunners showed persistence in the second half as they came out stronger and more aggressive. They actually led in shots 8-7, but never got on the board. Leading shooters for the Roadrunners were co-captains No. 3 Liliann Vizcaino and No. 12 Skyler Rybacki, who both tallied four shots total.
Vizcaino attempted to score with three shots on goal, all saved by the Scarlet Raptor goalkeeper, Liz DiCamillo and her remaining shot flew wide right. Similarly, Rybacki recorded two shots on goal, also saved by DiCamillo, with her remaining two shots also landing wide right.
The Scarlet Raptors recorded what would end up being the final goal in the 57th minute, with a header off of a corner kick. They advanced their lead to 2-0, which would later stand as the final score.
Defensively, Roadrunner goalkeeper Elizabeth Harvell played all 90 minutes and collected five saves.
In addition to four shots and three shots on goal, junior captain Liliann Vizcaino also took all five corner kicks for RCNJ and played a full 90-minute game. After the game she commented on the honor of being team captain.
“One of the greatest honors you can receive is being chosen as a captain from your teammates," said Vizcaino. "It has been a great experience. I love that I can lead by example, mentor some younger players and hopefully even be someone they can look up to.”
Vizcaino has shown to be a valuable player for RCNJ for quite some time now, being that she started every single game her freshman and sophomore years at Ramapo. Within those two years, Vizcaino logged 2,315 minutes on the field, and led the team with 54 corner kicks.
She also commented on the upcoming game against New Paltz, “I’m really looking forward to this game against New Paltz. This has been a rebuilding year for us since we have so many new faces on the team," stated Vizcaino. "This season is really about these new players gaining experience and we are slowly becoming an all-around unit as a team.”
In the end, Ramapo was not too far behind Rutgers-Camden with the shot count ending in 13-7 in favor of the Scarlet Raptors. Ramapo did however lead in corner kicks, posting a 5-3 advantage in the game.
The Roadrunners will return to action this Wednesday at the Athletic Center Turf Field where they will meet the New Paltz Hawks. Hopefully Liliann Vizcaino is correct when she states “Playing New Paltz will be a battle but I can see us coming out on top for this game!”
If all goes well, the Ramapo College women’s soccer team will secure a victory this week.
ksutphin@ramapo.edu
