Sternberger, Simi Power Rutgers Past Pittsburgh, 4-1
Sep 18 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, NJ – The Rutgers men’s soccer team (2-4-0, 1-1-0 BIG EAST) saw its offense come alive on Sunday afternoon in a 4-1 victory over visiting Pittsburgh (1-4-1, 0-2-0 BIG EAST) at Yurcak Field. Adam Sternberger (Petersburg, NJ) had a goal and an assist while Zach Simi (East Brunswick, NJ) finished with two assists.
After scoring just two goals in its pervious five games, RU struck first in opening minutes as sophomore Kevin O’Connor (Freehold, NJ) gathered a pass from Simi and beat Pittsburgh goalie Andy Jorgensen to the upper left corner of the goal.
The Rutgers defense then settled in, led by junior goalie Lubos Ancin (Burlington, NJ). Ancin made two first-half saves and finished with five on the afternoon in his first action since the season-opener against San Diego State. Leading 1-0 in the final stages of the first half, Sternberger scored from seven yards out after receiving a pass from Simi to give the Scarlet Knights a 2-0 lead in the 37th minute.
“You could see our kids really began to relax after we were able to generate some offense,” said head coach Bob Reasso. “This is a wonderful group, but we’re very young and still learning. People have to be patient with us. In the second half, we played with much more confidence. This is the kind of performance we have to build on as we move forward.”
With a two-goal cushion in the 72nd minute, the Rutgers offense once again revved up and scored twice to put the game out of reach. Nick LaBrocca (Howell, NJ) netted his first goal of the season on a 35-yard direct kick, and sophomore Chris Moore (New Castle, England) followed with his first collegiate points on a ball to the lower left corner of the goal in the 73rd minute.
The RU offense controlled the tempo the entire afternoon, holding a 20-10 advantage in shots (11-5 in the first half, 9-5 in the second half). Ten different RU players registered shots, led by Sternberger and Simi (fourth each). Pittsburgh’s Eric Jarger closed out the scoring when he poked a shot past Ancin in the 79th minute on a free kick.
Rutgers is now 7-0-2 in its last nine meetings with Pittsburgh dating back to 1997 and has scored at least three goals in six of those games. Last year, the two teams played to a 3-3 double overtime tie in Piscataway.
The Scarlet Knights begin a three-game road trip next Friday, Sept. 23, when it travels to South Orange, NJ, to face in-state rival Seton Hall at 3:00 p.m. RU also faces Georgetown (Sept. 25) and Princeton (Sept. 28) on the trip.
Soccer Box Score (Final)
2005 Rutgers Men's Soccer
Pittsburgh vs Rutgers (Sep 18, 2005 at Piscataway, NJ)
Pittsburgh (1-4-1, 0-2) vs. Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Rutgers (2-4-0, 1-1) -------------------------------
Date: Sep 18, 2005 Attendance: 570 Pittsburgh.......... 0 1 - 1
Weather: Rutgers............. 2 2 - 4
Pittsburgh Rutgers
Pos # Player Sh SOG G A Pos # Player Sh SOG G A
------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------
GK 0 JORGENSEN, Andy..... - - - - GK 1 ANCIN, Lubos........ - - - -
2 CUNHA, Mike......... 2 - - - 2 MARTENSON, Jake..... - - - -
5 BASTIDAS, Chris..... 1 - - - 5 KARGBO, Abdul....... - - - -
8 McCORMICK, E.J...... 2 2 - - 6 KOFFEMAN, Bart...... 2 1 - -
9 GRANT-HIGGINS,Dwayne 1 1 - - 8 LABROCCA, Nick...... 1 1 1 -
10 BASTIANELLI, Tyler.. 1 1 - - 9 SIMI, Zach.......... 4 1 - 2
12 RYAN, Sean.......... 1 1 - - 10 O'CONNOR, Kevin..... 1 1 1 -
17 CAVALIER, Steve..... - - - - 11 MOORE, Chris........ 3 2 1 -
19 DeCATO, Thomas...... - - - - 17 CAMERON, Sean....... 1 - - -
21 FIRSTER, Matt....... - - - - 21 SALYER, Chad........ 2 2 - -
24 JAEGER, Eric........ 1 1 1 - 22 LLOYD, Adam......... 1 - - -
---------- Substitutes ---------- ---------- Substitutes ----------
1 LOWERY, Justin...... - - - - 3 TERRY, Alieu........ - - - -
3 TAGARIS, George..... - - - - 4 DAILEY, Brinker..... - - - -
11 LANGTON, Matt....... - - - - 7 STERNBERGER, Adam... 4 3 1 1
22 WILCOX, Greg........ 1 - - - 12 GAHAGAN, Scott...... - - - -
Totals.............. 10 6 1 0 13 RITCHINGS, Keith.... - - - -
16 PETERSEN, Oliver.... 1 - - -
19 LYONNAIS, Joe....... - - - -
20 SKORIC, Bojan....... - - - -
23 CARTWRIGHT, Joe..... - - - -
Totals.............. 20 11 4 3
Pittsburgh Rutgers
# Player MIN GA Saves # Player MIN GA Saves
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
0 JORGENSEN, Andy..... 90:00 4 7 1 ANCIN, Lubos........ 90:00 1 5
Shots by period 1 2 Tot Saves by period 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Pittsburgh.......... 5 5 - 10 Pittsburgh.......... 4 3 - 7
Rutgers............. 11 9 - 20 Rutgers............. 2 3 - 5
Corner kicks 1 2 Tot Fouls 1 2 Tot
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Pittsburgh.......... 3 4 - 7 Pittsburgh.......... 7 4 - 11
Rutgers............. 2 1 - 3 Rutgers............. 1 5 - 6
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists
-------------------------------------------------------------
1. 9:04 RUTGERS O'CONNOR, Kevin (1) SIMI, Zach
2. 37:07 RUTGERS STERNBERGER, Adam (1) SIMI, Zach
3. 72:02 RUTGERS LABROCCA, Nick (1) (unassisted)
4. 73:27 RUTGERS MOORE, Chris STERNBERGER, Adam
5. 79:58 PITT JAEGER, Eric (unassisted)
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
YC-PITT #8 (22:34); YC-PITT #9 (39:16); YC-PITT #21 (62:01)
Officials: Referee: Zach Rubinich; Asst. Referee: William Ochs; Allen Stout;
Timekeeper: J. Paolini; Scorer: M. Basford;
Offsides: Pittsburgh 5, Rutgers 3.
ID-367245
