Andrew Cuevas
Guilherme Dantas and Josh Carroll were honored on Senior Night.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 31, 2009) – On a night where rain fell hard on Yurcak Field, junior Andrew Cuevas (Wayne, N.J.) delivered the game-winning goal with a minute and 30 seconds into the second overtime as the Rutgers men’s soccer team (8-9-0, 5-6-0 BIG EAST) defeated No. 9 USF (12-3-2, 8-1-2 BIG EAST) 2-1 on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Head coach Bob Reasso earned his 350th career victory at the helm of the Rutgers program. The Scarlet Knights also improved their all-time series record against the Bulls to 5-2-1, including have won four of the previous five matchups since USF joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2005.
The torrential downpour created a challenging surface for both squads as puddles of standing water had an adverse effect on the play, often slowing the two team’s ability to pass the ball.
“We said it all year, that this is a young team but they really grew up tonight,” said Reasso. “I thought we were the better team all night long. Our guys played great. They played with a lot of passion and intensity.
“The [weather] conditions were awful but you still have to play. The conditions were bad for both teams.”
Rutgers and USF played to a draw in the first half with RU edging USF in shots 5-3. The Scarlet Knights put three of those shots on goal to put a scare in the Bulls.
The Bulls had back-to-back opportunities with ten minutes left to go in the first half. Bernardo Anor took a hard shot from 15 yards out that goalkeeper Adam Klink (Chesapeake, Va.) just got a hand on. Zak Boggs of USF was there for the rebound, but Klink was able to redirect. USF earned a corner kick on the play, as South Florida’s Ogi Perucica headed it towards the net, but Klink made another save and RU was able to get out of trouble.
Klink made a total of three saves, all coming in the first half. The Scarlet Knights quickly responded following the intermission, breaking the deadlock less than a minute into the second half.
On his first collegiate shot, freshman Dan Parr (Hummelstown, Pa.) scored his first career goal to give RU a 1-0 lead after the scoreless opening period. Sophomore Ibrahim Kamara (North Brunswick, N.J.) touched it to the rookie who booted a hard shot towards USF goalkeeper Jeff Attinella. Atinella got a hand on it, but the ball snuck past the goal line to the bottom right of the net.
USF got back into the game 35 minutes later, tallying the equalizer in the 79th minute. Hasani Sinclair dribbled past a couple Rutgers defenders and found day light as he scored unassisted to tie the match at 1-1.
The two teams played through the end of regulation and the first overtime period without another score before the Scarlet Knights struck the game-winner in double OT.
Rutgers picked up the decisive goal on a set piece at the 101:30 mark. Sophomore Robbie McLarney (Londonderry, N.H.) drove a corner kick to the near post where a slashing Cuevas was waiting. Cuevas drilled the header into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
“We saw their guy guarding the near post space leave that space open. We orchestrated in extra time to get [Andrew] Cuevas from the far post to the near post. Robbie [McLarney] drove the ball to that spot and Cuevas did a great job finishing.”
Rutgers, which clinched a berth to the BIG EAST Championship earlier in the week, will face West Virginia in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Morgantown.
