Galloway, NJ – Stockton University (7-1-2, 1-0-1 NJAC) had to come from behind for a hard fought 1-1 tie with Rutgers-Newark (4-5-1, 1-0-1) on Saturday afternoon. Michael Echeverria (Linden/St. Joseph's) helped Stockton gain the deadlock with the only goal of the day for the Ospreys.
 
The Ospreys dominated the first half, squeezing off 10 shots to none for the visitors, but were unable to get anything through for a score. Stockton put four shots on net, but the half ended in a scoreless deadlock.
 
The Scarlet Raiders came out strong during the second frame, finally getting a shot into the net. At 78:03, Ariel Parada bounced a shot that eluded the Stockton defense and into the net for the 1-0 lead. Just over three and a half minutes later, Echeverria knotted the game at 1-1.
 
The junior gathered a ball in the offensive zone and fired a blast from just over 45 yards away. His rocket hit the top right corner to give the junior his second goal of the year and the 1-1 tie.
 
Both squads clamped down on defense sending it to the first overtime period. Stockton was able to get two shots off but neither on net. Larry Abanilla (Union/Union Catholic) fired one last volley on net with two and a half minutes left in the game, but his shot was directly at the goalkeeper and the teams settled for the 1-1 tie.
 
Stockton had 18 shots on the day, led by Ervin Gjeli (Hasbrouck Heights/Hasbrouck Hts.) with four shots, followed by Christian Bik (Vineland/St. Augustine) and Abanilla with three attempts each. Two of Abanilla's shots were on net as the Ospreys had eight on goal during the game.
 
Stockton goalkeeper Dino Gromitsaris (Bordentown/Bordentown) made just one save for the contest. His counterpart Andres Medina kicked out seven shots for Rutgers-Newark.
 
Stockton will put their nine-match unbeaten streak on the line in their next contest, as the Ospreys will face #20 Rowan University in Glassboro next Wednesday. The Profs are nationally ranked by the United Soccer Coaches. The game is set for 7pm.