Sports

Rutgers' Women's Soccer Team Wins on Late Goal; First Place Finish For Cross Country

The men's soccer team prepares for its 75th anniversary celebration Oct. 5.

The Rutgers University women’s cross country team won the Monmouth Cross Country Invitational behind a first-place finish behind Delsea High School graduate Paige Senatore.

Senatore took first place by 21 seconds, finishing the course at Holmdel Park in 18:43.85, according to the University. The Scarlet Knights had a total of four top 10 finishers, and scored 36 points to take home the team title for the second consecutive year. Monmouth University was second with 41 points, followed by Rider, at 71 points.

Junior Allison Payenski, of Whitehouse Station, finished third with a time of 19:12. Freshman Kaitlyn Bedard, of Ringoes, was sixth at 19:35.53. Senior Rashmi Singh, of Flemington, was eighth with a time of 19:40.11.

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“I was very pleased with the training over the last two weeks,” assistant coach Jan Merrill-Morin said in a release. “The ladies were able to translate their training to the race (on Saturday).” 

Freshman Nisa Cicitta, of Glen Gardner, finished 21st in 20:45.25, and junior Felicia O’Donnell finished 23rd in 20:55.99.

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The Scarlet Knights men’s team finished third behind top 10 finishes from senior Chris Banafato, of Bridgewater, and junior Chris Defabio, of Millington. Banafato was fourth in 26:47.34, and Millington was 10th in 27:14.67.

WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM CONTINUES UNBEATEN STREAK WITH LATE GOAL: Junior Stef Scholz, of South Hackensack, scored the game-winner with 31 seconds left in the Scarlet Knights’ 2-1 win over Villanova over the weekend. Tricia DiPaolo, of Sparta, had the assist.

Rutgers is now 7-1-1, and 3-0-1 in its last four games, according to scarletknights.com.

Freshman Madison Tiernan, of Voorhees, scored the other goal for the Knights, and senior goalie Jess Janosz made three saves.

MEN’S SOCCER CELEBRATING 75TH ANNIVERSARY: The men’s soccer team is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its first game on Saturday, Oct. 5 prior to its game against Cincinnati at home, 7 p.m.

A pre-game ceremony will be held at the Audi Club at the Hale Center at 5 p.m. Those who wish to attend should RSVP by Oct. 1 via email at trandise@scarletknights.com.

The Scarlet Knights have a rich tradition, and has three seasons noted specifically on scarletknights.com. Rutgers played in the national championship game following the 1990 season, and made it to the NCAA semifinals in 1989 and 1994.

Before the celebration, the Scarlet Knights play three games, including Tuesday at Drexel; Saturday at Memphis; and Wednesday, Oct. 2 at home against Hofstra.

Following its 1-0 loss to Southern Methodist over the weekend, Rutgers is 3-3-1.


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