Rutgers Men's Soccer Falls at Princeton, 3-0
Oct 16 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men’s soccer team (5-5-3) loss a tough match by the score of 3-0 at instate rival Princeton (3-8-1) at Roberts Stadium on Wednesday night. The defeat snapped the Scarlet Knights’ previous 11-game unbeaten streak against the Tigers, dating back to the 1995 season. RU was 8-0-3 against Princeton during the span.
“For how well we played Saturday night [against Syracuse], that’s how poorly we played tonight,” said Bob Reasso. “We passed the ball well in the first half but we made a couple mistakes and they got a goal. That’s been a trend for this team, we’ve only scored one goal in the first half and they didn’t play with a sense of urgency.
“We had our moments where we did ok, but we never really challenged the goalkeeper and put enough shots on target. We only put two shots on goal all night and that’s been one of the things we had been doing well. Tonight we came out very lethargically. We didn’t bring the effort tonight and you’re not going to win games without everyone being on the same page.”
Rutgers had its share of scoring opportunities, outshooting the Tigers 16-9. RU also held the edge in corner kicks 6-4. Sophomore Yannick Salmon (Westbury, N.Y.) and freshman Ibrahim Kamara (North Brunswick, N.J.) gave the Scarlet Knights two of their best chances as the pair put two shots on goal, forcing saves by Princeton keeper Joe Walter.
Princeton took an early lead in the first half with a goal in the 18th minute by Antoine Hoppenot on an assist from Josh Walburn and Teddy Schneider. The opening half of games have been an ‘Achilles heel’ for the Scarlet Knights this season as opponents have scored eight goals in the first half, while RU has managed just one tally. Although, Rutgers has been able to rally from early deficits in the past, playing from behind tonight proved too much to overcome.
The Tigers were able to carry that moment into the next half, adding to their lead a minute into the second period, this time with Hoppenot assisting along with Devin Muntz on a goal by Manny Sardinha to pull ahead 2-0 over the Scarlet Knights. Princeton found the back of the net again to secure the 3-0 victory when Hoppenot notched his second goal of the game in the 81st minute on an assist from Brandon Busch.
“This is a good group of guys and they work very hard,” said Reasso. “They come out and compete every night, but tonight was a bump in the road. This is the process of growing together and learning from our mistakes. It’s not the end of the world, we have five [regular-season] games left but it is disappointing after the effort they gave on Saturday [against Syracuse].”
Rutgers will return to action, closing out its five-match road trip at Cincinnati (Oct.18) and NJIT (Oct. 22).
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