UNION, N.J. (10/4/14) – The Kean University men's soccer team fell 3-1 to Rutgers-Camden in NJAC action on Saturday. The victory lifted the Scarlet Raptors to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in the NJAC, while Kean falls to 7-4-1 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

The Cougars came out strong and had several early scoring opportunities in the first half, led by freshman forward Sevag Kherlopian, who finished with six of the team's 16 shots and eventually scored Kean's lone goal.

Rutgers-Camden survived the early onslaught, however, and eventually notched the only goal of the first-half on a flurry of action in the box. The ball found a scarlet foot on the right side, and Camden had its first goal at 31:15.

It didn't take Kean long to tie the game in the second half. Just 3:28 into the second stanza, sophomore midfielder Robert Barrera threaded a through ball up the middle of the Raptor defense. Kherlopian ran onto the ball near the top of the box and finished off his sixth goal of the season inside the right post.

The Scarlet Raptors countered again 2:25 later. It was Ryan Kelly's second goaland proved to be the game winner. The play started with junior midfielder Giuseppe DeLuca near the right touchline at midfield. He sent a pass into the middle for junior midfielder Jeramey Robbins, who found Kelly on the left side. Kelly finished the play with a shot inside the far right post.

The Scarlet Raptors tacked on an insurance goal at 67:09 on a corner kick.

The Cougars, who had several more dangerous chances in the game, nearly cut the margin to one goal six minutes later, but a shot by Kherlopian (pictured left) in the box was blocked by a Rutgers defender.

Rutgers-Camden finished with a 22-16 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks. Raptor sophomore keeper Eric Bumbera had five saves, while Cougar senior goalie Nick Pavlichko collected seven.

The Cougars play a 3 p.m. non-conference game against John Jay College on Monday, a contest which will be held at the College of Staten Island.