Rutgers Defeats No. 19 USF for Fourth-Straight Win
Oct 22 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Behind a two-goal effort from sophomore forward Adam Sternberger (Petersburg, NJ), the Rutgers men's soccer team (7-7-2, 4-4-1 BIG EAST) ran its winning streak to four games, posting a convincing 3-0 decision over 19th-ranked South Florida (9-5-0, 7-2-0 BIG EAST) on a rain-soaked Yurcak Field on Saturday night.
With the win, the Scarlet Knights not only gained three valuable points in the BIG EAST Red Division standings, but they also improved to 5-1-2 in the past eight games. Over its current four-game winning streak, the RU offense has come alive with 14 goals, including five from Sternberger. The loss for USF snaps a three match winning streak. The Bulls were 8-1-0 in their last nine games prior to Saturday's contest.
"We're playing like a true Rutgers team, and that's a very high compliment given our history and tradition," said head coach Bob Reasso. "You could tell our kids wanted it more tonight. We've made some adjustments up front over the past four games and they've really paid off. This sets us up to be in good position for the BIG EAST playoffs, which is what we've always wanted."
Sternberger gave Rutgers an early 1-0 advantage 12 minutes into the contest, as he took a direct kick from sophomore Chris Moore (New Castle, England) and headed the ball past USF goalie Dane Brenner.
The high-powered South Florida offense was limited to just two first half shots, thanks in large part to the play of defenders Jake Martenson (Winchester, VA), Brinker Dailey (Atlanta, GA), Bart Koffeman (The Hague, Holland) and goalie Matt VanOekel (Chesapeake, VA). VanOekel made a save in the first five minutes of the first half to end the Bulls' only scoring threat.
Six and a half minutes into the second half, Sean Cameron (North Brunswick, NJ) booted a ball from 45 yards out, attempting to pass it into the box. The ball took a high bounce at the 10 yard mark, sailing up and over the head of Brenner that gave RU a critical insurance goal. It was Cameron's second score of the year.
With the RU defense containing USF, Moore and Sternberger once again played a role in getting the Scarlet Knights their third and final goal. Moore raced into the box and drew Brenner to the left, taking a shot that was blocked by the reigning BIG EAST Goalie of the Week. Brenner was not able to secure the ball, however, and it bounced to Sternberger, who was waiting from five yards out and put it into the upper right corner.
Jordan Seabrooks, who entered the game as the second leading scorer in the BIG EAST with 22 points (nine goals, four assists) was limited to just one shot. In the final minute of regulation, he missed a penalty kick that sailed wide right of the goal. Overall, the Bulls had just seven shots on the evening, 10 below their season average. VanOekel, making his fourth consecutive start, earned the shutout, finishing with four saves.
Rutgers returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 26, when it hosts Syracuse in the final regular season contest of the year at Yurcak Field. The Scarlet Knights will honor their two seniors - Scott Gahagan (Old Bridge, NJ) and Adbul Kargbo (Alexandria, VA) - prior to the game.
Soccer Box Score (Final)
2005 Rutgers Men's Soccer
#19 South Florida vs Rutgers (Oct 22, 2005 at Piscataway, NJ)
South Florida (9-5-0, 7-2-0) vs. Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Rutgers (7-7-2, 4-4-1) -------------------------------
Date: Oct 22, 2005 Attendance: 235 South Florida....... 0 0 - 0
Weather: Cold, steady rain Rutgers............. 1 2 - 3
South Florida Rutgers
Pos # Player Sh SOG G A Pos # Player Sh SOG G A
------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------
GK 1 BRENNER, Dane....... - - - - GK 28 VANOEKEL, Matt...... - - - -
3 DEVENISH, Jason..... 1 1 - - 2 MARTENSON, Jake..... - - - -
5 MARSHALL, Yohance... - - - - 4 DAILEY, Brinker..... - - - -
6 SHARPE, Blake....... - - - - 6 KOFFEMAN, Bart...... - - - -
9 GIL, Brian.......... - - - - 7 STERNBERGER, Adam... 4 2 2 -
11 CASTELLANOS, Sammy.. 1 1 - - 8 LABROCCA, Nick...... 1 1 - -
12 SEABROOK, Jordan.... 1 1 - - 9 SIMI, Zach.......... 4 1 - -
13 NEAVES, Kevon....... 1 - - - 10 O'CONNOR, Kevin..... - - - -
17 SMITH, Kareem....... - - - - 11 MOORE, Chris........ 4 3 - 1
19 CLAESSENS, Joris.... - - - - 17 CAMERON, Sean....... 2 2 1 -
21 SCHOENDORF, Simon... 1 - - - 21 SALYER, Chad........ - - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
8 RAAD, Kris.......... 1 1 - - 12 GAHAGAN, Scott...... - - - -
10 BENITO, Keeron...... - - - - 14 BREZNITSKY, Ryan.... - - - -
14 BROWN, Joey......... 1 - - - 15 GRATO, Kyle......... - - - -
16 GAA, Garrett........ - - - - 22 LLOYD, Adam......... - - - -
23 HIDALGO, Rodrigo.... - - - - Totals.............. 15 9 3 1
Totals.............. 7 4 0 0
South Florida Rutgers
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
1 BRENNER, Dane....... 90:00 3 6 28 VANOEKEL, Matt...... 90:00 0 4
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
South Florida....... 2 5 - 7 South Florida....... 3 3 - 6
Rutgers............. 5 10 - 15 Rutgers............. 1 3 - 4
Corner kicks 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
South Florida....... 1 1 - 2 South Florida....... 8 6 - 14
Rutgers............. 0 2 - 2 Rutgers............. 9 8 - 17
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 12:06 RUTGERS STERNBERGER, Adam (5) MOORE, Chris
2. 51:36 RUTGERS CAMERON, Sean (1) (unassisted)
3. 69:10 RUTGERS STERNBERGER, Adam (6) (unassisted)
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
YC-RUTGERS #17 (7:27); YC-USF #3 (7:42); YC-RUTGERS #9 (13:00);
YC-USF #6 (53:43)
Officials: Timekeeper: J. Paolini; Scorer: M. Basford;
Offsides: South Florida 2, Rutgers 1.
ID-369196
