The nationally-ranked No. 4 Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer team will host the first and second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Saturday and Sunday on Alumni Field for the first time in program history, it was announced Monday afternoon by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Rutgers-Newark will welcome three other schools to the Brick City this weekend and will square off with New England College in the first round Saturday at 5 p.m. The other first round matchup on Alumni Field will be Vassar College and Elizabethtown College at 7:30 p.m., with the winners squaring off Sunday evening at 5 p.m. for the rite to play in the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament.
The Scarlet Raiders received an at-large berth to the tournament by way of an 18-3-0 record and the regular-season New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title.
This is the program's third berth in the tournament as the Scarlet Raiders played on the national stage in both 2013 and 2014, earning the team's first-ever NCAA win on November 15, 2014.
The 18 wins for Rutgers-Newark has already set a new high-water mark for the program as the Scarlet Raiders reeled off an excellent 12-straight victories to close the regular season.
The R-N men's soccer program has played in the postseason each and every year since 2008, twice making the national tournament and receiving berths to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015. The team won the ECAC Metro/Upstate crown in 2015 as the Scarlet Raiders have won an impressive 67 games from 2013-2016.
Admission to the NCAA Tournament on Alumni Field will be as follows:
General Admission = $6
Seniors = $3
Students = $3
Children (ages 3-12) = $2
**per NCAA rule, there are absolutely no comp tickets to the NCAA Tournament
**Rutgers-Newark will be paying for its students so those R-N students (with ID) that attend will receive free admission on R-N's behalf
R-N's first round foe –New England College – will bring a record of 11-9-1 into the NCAA Tournament. The Pilgrims earned their bid by way of the North Atlantic Conference crown. It was New England's first-ever NAC title as the sixth-seeded Pilgrims upset top-seeded Thomas College in penalty kicks.
E'Town brings an overall mark of 13-3-2 into the national tournament, going 5-0-2 in conference contests. The Blue Jays lost to the University of Scranton in the Landmark title match and earned an at-large berth to the field from the national men's soccer committee.
Vassar College won the Liberty League title with a 3-2 triumph over Skidmore College in that league's final. The Brewers boast an overall record of 14-3-2 and have won five-straight matches dating back to a 3-2 loss at Hobart College on October 15.
Fans can expect a full preview of the tournament on Thursday night at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com and those unable to make the trip to Newark can tune in to all the action live at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/watch.
Fans should also follow @ScarletRaiders on twitter and Instagram for the latest.
NJAC Teams: Four teams from R-N's conference made the dance; Rutgers-Newark, Montclair State University, Rowan University and Kean University.
NCAA's in Newark: Rutgers-Newark has never hosted an NCAA Tournament match on Alumni Field, and the games this weekend mark just the second time in department history an NCAA contest will be played on Newark soil. Scarlet Raider men's volleyball defeated Endicott College in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament in the first-ever national tournament at Rutgers-Newark.
