CAMDEN, NJ (November 12, 2011) – Rutgers University-Camden freshman forward Corey Beltran (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) collected two goals to lead the Scarlet Raptors to the first NCAA victory in program history as they defeated the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 4-2, here Saturday in a Division III Men’s Soccer first-round game at Rutgers-Camden Community Park.

In the second game of the night, Wesleyan University received a first-half goal and went on to edge Misericordia University, 1-0.

Rutgers-Camden (17-2-2) and Wesleyan (11-2-3) advance to a second-round matchup here Sunday at 5 p.m. The winner of that game advances to a third-round game next weekend at a site to be determined.

 Rutgers-Camden 4, USMMA 2

Hosting a NCAA tournament game for the first time in program history, the Scarlet Raptors received a pair of goals from Beltran and added tallies by freshman midfielder Joe Auleta (Atco, NJ/Hammonton) and sophomore back Bobby Foster (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) as they defeated the Mariners in a high-scoring contest.

The victory was the 17th of the season for the Raptors, setting a new program record. The old mark of 16 had been set in 2008, the only other time Rutgers-Camden advanced to the NCAA tournament. The Raptors, ranked No. 9 nationally in the NSCAA Top 25 and No. 11 in the d3soccer.com poll, extended their unbeaten streak to 15 games.

The win also was the 80th Raptor victory for sixth-year Head Coach Tim Oswald (80-35-17).

Both teams had reached the NCAA tournament with back-to-back shutouts while winning their conference titles, but in a wild first half, the teams traded the first two goals, Rutgers-Camden collected two quick goals to go up 3-1 and USMMA cut the gap to 3-2 with a little over eight minutes remaining in the half.

Beltran collected the insurance goal, and the lone tally of the second half, at 74:28, assisted by sophomore forward Mitch Grotti (Milmay, NJ/Millville).

Auleta got the Raptors started with a 25-yard bullet into the upper right side of the net at 12:47 after Grotti dropped him a pass to set up the look on goal.

The Mariners (11-7-1), who applied plenty of pressure on the Raptor defense, didn’t take long to even the score. Junior forward Cody Kessler (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) sent a perfect through ball into the box on the left side for senior forward Andrew MacKenzie (San Diego, CA/West Hills). MacKenzie drilled a shot into the left side of the net for his sixth goal of the season at 21:01. The goal ended the Raptors’ scoreless streak at 444:06.

Rutgers-Camden bounced back with a pair of goals at 25:55 and 28:46. Foster headed in a throw-in by sophomore midfielder Zaiere Putmon (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) to break the deadlock and Beltran headed in his first goal of the night moments later off a chip by senior midfielder Chris Edelschein (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee).

USMMA, however, cut the gap to 3-2 before the half when freshman midfielder Kyle Arestivo (Northport, NY/St. Anthony’s) scored his second goal of the season off a loose ball in the box.

Raptor senior goalie Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) and USMMA junior keeper Gary Poulin (Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge) both made six saves.

USMMA held a 19-18 edge in shots, while Rutgers-Camden had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

 Wesleyan 1, Misericordia 0

In the second game of the day, Wesleyan junior midfielder Rory O’Neill (Silver Spring, MD/Sidwell Friends School) scored the lone goal of the contest at 23:42 and the Cardinals weathered a rugged Misericordia attack to advance with a 1-0 victory.

O’Neill scored his seventh goal of the season from up top on the left side of the box, ripping a shot into the left side of the net. It was assisted by junior forward Walter Rodriguez (North Plainfield, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep).

The Cardinals, who have been ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in the NSCAA poll this season, received five saves from junior goalie Adam Purdy (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) as he broke his own single-season program record with his 11th shutout.

With 10 minutes remaining, Purdy made a leaping grab just below the crossbar off a 30-yard shot by Misericordia sophomore David Stoner (Lititz, PA/Warwick). The Cougars, who were making their third NCAA appearance in the last four years, closed the season at 13-3-4 despite holding a 14-10 advantage in shots, including a 9-5 margin in the second half.

Wesleyan held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

Junior keeper Dan Fritz (Hughesville, PA/Hughesville) made three saves for Misericordia.