Box Score 

WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (12-3-2, 5-2-1 NJAC) locked up a bid to the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Men's Soccer Tournament with an emphatic 6-1 victory against Rutgers-Newark (10-7-1, 1-6-1 NJAC) on Senior Day Oct. 23 at Pioneer Soccer Park. 

The Pioneers remain in third place in the league standings with 16 points, trailing The College of New Jersey (6-1-1, 19) and Montclair State (6-2, 18), and ahead of Ramapo (4-1-3, 15), Richard Stockton (4-2-2, 14) and Kean (4-4, 12). With one conference match remaining, William Paterson will finish somewhere between second and fifth place. The top two seeds will receive a bye, and the third- and fourth-place teams will earn the right to host, for first-round NJAC Tournament matches Saturday, Oct. 30.

It didn't take long for William Paterson to get on the scoreboard, as Julian Valerio's (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) corner kick was knocked into the Scarlet Raider goal by one of the Rutgers-Newark defensive players 1:04 into the contest.

Freshman Kene Eze (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) made it 2-0 just two minutes later, taking a Mike Lowe (Wilmington, Del./Alexis I. DuPont) pass and drilling a shot past Raider keeper Jonathan Frances, who was caught off his line.

Lowe factored into the Pioneers' third goal of the first half, playing a ball down the left sideline that sophomore Naeem Boucher (Paterson, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) crossed from the left flag to the right side of the box and a waiting Valerio. The senior brought it down and fired in the 36th minute, collecting his seventh goal of the season.

Boucher made it a 4-0 contest four minutes later, tucking a Dan Fulmer(Andover, N.J./Newton) pass just under the crossbar from the top of the box.

Rutgers-Newark finally got on the board in the 53rd minute when Ronald Quiroz found the inside of the far post from the right wing.

Junior Anthony Ferrer (Lake Hiawatha, N.J./Parsippany) stretched the William Paterson advantage to 5-1 when his shot off a broken corner kick play ricocheted off a Rutgers-Newark defender and in during the 72nd minute of play.

With less than eight minutes remaining in the contest, junior Domenick Candelieri (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) sent a ball across the box that found Matt Nigro (Morganville, N.J./Marlboro). Nigro's point-blank shot was stopped by Matt Zielyk, but Valerio cleaned up the rebound for his 31st career goal and second strike of the afternoon.

Junior keeper Zach Collins (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional) made five saves for William Paterson, and classmate Sam Gerais (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) played the final 21:36 in the WP goal. Frances had one stop during the first half for Rutgers-Newark, and Zielyk made five saves during the second period.

Prior to the match, the Pioneers honored senior student assistant coach Alex Wanless (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) and seniors Joe Strawman (Ringoes, N.J./ Hunterdon Central Regional), Chris Belan (Howell, N.J./Freehold Twp.), Steve DeMatteo (Piscataway, N.J./St. Joseph-Metuchen), Matthew Heitmann (Westwood, N.J./St. Joseph Regional), Ryan Miller (Colonia, N.J./Colonia), Ambrogio Pipitone (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) and Valerio.

The Pioneers will finish the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Kean at 7:30 p.m.