ALLENTOWN, Penn. (Aug. 30, 2013) – During his first seven seasons with the Rutgers University-Camden men’s soccer team, Head Coach Tim Oswald was involved with numerous program milestones.

He added another one here Friday in the opening game of his eighth season.

Rutgers-Camden sophomore forward Mike Ryan (Cherokee, NJ/Marlton) scored his second goal of the game only 1:48 after Muhlenberg tied the contest, and the Scarlet Raptors went on to defeat the Mules, 2-1.

The victory was the 100th in Oswald’s coaching career at Rutgers-Camden.

Ryan’s game-winning goal came off a long through ball from senior forward Mitch Grotti (Milmay, NJ/Millville), which forced Muhlenberg sophomore keeper Ellison Heil (Salem, VA/Salem) to come out of the goal in an attempt to break up the play. It was the second assist of the game for Grotti, who now owns 16 in his career to tie for eighth on the program’s all-time list. He also hiked his career point total to 96.

Ryan’s second goal, coming at 58:43, came only moments after Muhlenberg tied the game on a goal  by junior Travis Wantchekon (New York, NY/Friends Seminary). Wantchekon’s long shot deflected off a Raptor back and into the net.

Oswald, already the winningest coach in program history, now sports a lofty 100-38-20 record at Rutgers-Camden. He is the only coach in program history to capture a pair of New Jersey Athletic Conference titles, winning the crown the last two seasons. His soccer teams own the only three ECAC Championships at Rutgers-Camden, coming in 2006, 2007 and 2010, and he has led the only three squads in program history into the NCAA Division III Championships, coming in 2008, 2011 and 2012.

Oswald also has seen his team appear in one or both of the major national polls for 23 consecutive weeks, dating back to Sept. 13, 2011. The Scarlet Raptors are ranked No. 14 in the pre-season NSCAA Division III poll.

Oswald’s 2011 team advanced all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight before losing in double overtime, finishing its season with a school-record 19-3-2 mark. Last season’s team went 17-2-3, being eliminated on penalty kicks in the NCAA Tournament after a second-round tie.

In the Scarlet Raptors’ last 47 games, through Friday night, Oswald’s teams own a 37-5-5 record. He is 6-2 in his eight season openers at Rutgers-Camden, including wins in six of the last seven seasons.

Oswald, who was named the NJAC Coach of the Year in 2011, also has earned four honors as Rutgers-Camden’s Coach of the Year.

The Scarlet Raptors scored their first goal of the season at 25:37, midway through the first half, when Ryan finished a Grotti cross. Grotti sent the cross from the left side to the top corner of the box for Ryan, who led the team as a freshman last season with 17 goals and 39 points.

Rutgers-Camden senior goalie Mike Randall (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) made two saves to earn his 18th career victory, tying Eric Gray (1995-97) for fifth on the program’s career list.

Heil made three saves for Muhlenberg as Rutgers-Camden held an 11-7 advantage in shots and a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks.

The Scarlet Raptors return to action Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. game at DeSales University. They open their home schedule Wednesday, hosting Cabrini College at 7 p.m.

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