PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 28, 2009) – The Rutgers men’s soccer team (7-9-0, 4-6-0 BIG EAST) secured the sixth and final playoff spot in the Red Division Wednesday night, despite dropping a 3-0 match to Villanova (9-6-2, 5-4-1 BIG EAST).
In other BIG EAST action, Louisville defeated Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The Bearcats are one spot behind the Scarlet Knights (12 points) in the standings with nine points. UC has one game remaining in the regular season against Syracuse, however, regardless of the outcome; the best it can finish is in a tie for sixth (if Rutgers loses vs. USF Saturday). RU owns the tiebreaker by virtue of its 3-0 win over Cincinnati on Oct. 18; further solidify the Scarlet Knights’ playoff berth.
Against Villanova, the Wildcats found the back of the net early and put the Scarlet Knights on their heels with a goal in the 13th minute. Emerson Lawrence crossed a ball into the box were a cutting Anthony Griffth was able to get a foot on it and deliver the decisive score.
“[Villanova] outfought us tonight,” said head coach Bob Reasso. “They wanted to win more than we wanted to win. I’m absolutely shocked; it was our worst performance of the year. We didn’t compete tonight and I’ll take responsibility for that. It was our worst performance at the worst time.
“It’s very disappointing. The basic ingredient is coming to fight and competing and I thought it was quite evident that Villanova wanted to win more than we did. How do you explain that in a game that we’re trying to play ourselves into the BIG EAST Tournament.”
The task of responding from the one-goal deficit became even more daunting for RU when Villanova struck again for its second score of the match following the halftime break. Three minutes into the second period, the Wildcat’s Jake Heyer played a pass to Sean Mergenthal at the top of the box and junior midfielder increased his team’s lead to 2-0 with his second tally of the season. Villanova put the game away in the 82nd minute when it was awarded a penalty kick. The Wildcats converted the opportunity and held on for the 3-0 victory.
Rutgers will conclude the conference schedule on Saturday, Oct. 31, hosting No. 9/6 USF. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. The Scarlet Knights are 4-2-1 all-time against USF, including winning three of the four meetings since the Bulls joined the BIG EAST Conference for the 2005 season.
Following the completion of regular season, the Scarlet Knights’ BIG EAST Tournament opponent will be determined by the final standings. As the No. 6 seed in the Red Division, RU is currently slated to face the No. 3 seed in the Blue Division.
