Box Score (Story taken from opponent website)
NEWARK, NJ (August 31, 2007) – Freshman midfielder Estiven Benetiz (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills HS) tallied two of Rutgers-Newark's four second-half goals as the Scarlet Raiders opened the Kevin East coaching era with a hard-fought 4-3 win over SUNY Maritime.
Junior midfielder Marin Gjoca (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) broke the third tie of the match on a crossing pass to the right side of the goal by freshman forward Aderson Cenoble (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) with just 17:39 remaining, and the Raiders survived a couple of late scares to win the season opener.
Freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Frances (Chandler, AZ/Hamilton) made five of his six saves in the opening period when the Privateers gained a 1-0 lead on a put-back goal by freshman midfielder Eric Mittermeier (Pomona, N.Y./Ramapo) (Pomona, NY).
Benetiz evened the score in the opening minutes of the second half, picking off an errant Maritime pass, before freshman forward Jason Laing (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) gathered the deflection of a restart kick by junior midfielder Daniel Mezzina (Union City, NJ/Emerson) and fired a goal into the right side for a 2-1 Raider lead in the 51st minute.
Privateer freshman midfielder Patrick Masango (Baltimore, MD/Phs Kumba) then sandwiched goals around another tally by Benetiz to make it 3-3 in the 70th minute, and set the stage for Gjoca's game-winning goal.
Maritime senior goalkeeper Matt Kavanaugh (Penfield, NY/Penfield) (Penfield, NY/Penfield) made seven saves.
The Privateers will be back in action on Tuesday for their home opener against Hunter College. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM.
