NEWARK, NJ – The Wilkes University women's soccer squad continued their season-opening road swing with a trip to visit Rutgers-Newark Saturday afternoon.
 
The Colonels (1-3), outshot the Scarlet Raiders (3-0) 16-5 and 7-3 on goal, but it wasn't enough as they fell 1-0 to an early Rutgers goal.
 
Tamia Howell netted the lone goal at 10:08 for the Scarlet Raiders, in an early going that saw Rutgers-Newark outshoot the Colonels 3-1.  The Colonels stabilized afterwards and outshot the Raiders 6-2 for the rest of the half, but didn't find the net.  The Navy and Gold found several opportunities to score in the middle portion of the second half, with senior midfielder Emily Bidelspach (Myerstown, PA/ELCO) kicking two shots on goal in the span of a minute.
 
The Colonels never found their way past Scarlet Raider goalkeeper Katie McLaughlin and fell in the 1-0 shutout.  McLaughlin recorded seven saves in the shutout victory, while Hannah Landis (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) earned a pair of saves in the close loss.  Bidelspach led all Colonels with six shots and four shots on goal.  Seniors Victoria Burkhart (Mount Pocono, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) and Karyna Vargas (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) each had three shots apiece.
 
The Colonels look to snap their three-game losing skid as they return home to Bruggeworth Field Wednesday evening.  They play host to Susquehanna University at 7:00 p.m.  The Colonels are 6-6-3 all-time against Susquehanna, and lost the last matchup 3-0 on the road in 2019.