2008 Season Review
Nov 24 | Men's Soccer
The 2008 Rutgers men’s soccer campaign featured one of the youngest squads in the nation and one of the most unseasoned groups in head coach Bob Reasso’s nearly 30-year tenure. On a roster of 30 student-athletes, 23 were either freshmen or sophomore which at times compounded the Scarlet Knights up and down play on the field. The team’s youth was clearly illustrated in the fact that 90 percent of the minutes consumed by the field players – excluding the senior goalkeeper – were by individuals with just one year or less of game-time experience.
The 2008 season included a number of exciting games featuring 11 BIG EAST teams, four of which were nationally-ranked and several other very competitive squads. Although the team’s losses ended the season just shy of the BIG EAST Championship, the Scarlet Knights poured their hearts into each and every match. In the end, the season’s ups and downs stand as a learning experience for this young team’s future.
“It’s taken more time than I’ve expected to rebuild this program,” said Reasso. “We knew we were going to be young this season. Take our goalkeeper out of the mix and 90 percent of the minutes by our 10 field players were freshmen or sophomores.”
The Scarlet Knights did have three seniors on their roster, however, only two were available to see game action as co-captain Ryan Breznitsky missed the year due to concussion syndrome. The loss was a major blow for Rutgers squad that lacked a great deal of veteran leadership. Although Breznitsky was unable to provide a boost on the field, his big-game experience did translate well in the locker room as helped mentor the younger players.
Rutgers did rely on its other two seniors in Amir Haghshenas and Kevin McFadden and the pair responded with standout seasons. In his first season as the regular starter in goal, Haghshenas raised his level of play and provided the Scarlet Knights with several moments of brilliance. McFadden became one of the team’s biggest catalysts as he orchestrated a number of goal-scoring opportunities. McFadden went on to record six assists in 2008, a mark which ranked tied for third in the BIG EAST at the end of the regular season.
The Scarlet Knights were without question among the youngest of teams across the country and BIG EAST Conference. The youth certainly placed some challenges on the team’s success. However, many of these young athletes matured throughout the season and evolved into the star players that Rutgers’ fans can look forward to seeing next season.
“This is an outstanding group of guys who trained hard every day and when they mature, I believe they’re going to be a great team,” said Reasso.
Among some of the young players that raised their level of play were sophomores Dilly Duka and Yannick Salmon as well as freshmen Gaetano Panuccio, Robbie McLarney and Sam Archer. These underclassmen gave their best efforts in each and every game and were the driving force behind the team’s success.
Rutgers kicked off its season in Piscataway with a solid start against Delaware, defeating the Bluehens 2-1 to open the campaign at 1-0. Facing a one-goal deficit in the first half, highly-touted freshman Ibrahim Kamara delivered the equalizer in the second half, while Josh Carroll scored the game winner in the second overtime to secure the win.
The first game of the year proved indicative of how much of the season would play out. The Scarlet Knights found it difficult to get out to a quick start as they were outscored 9-3 in the first half of games; however it was a tale of two halves with RU holding a 15-13 advantage in goals following intermission. Rutgers was 2-5 for the season in games that its opponents scored in the first half.
“We grew up a lot this year but it still was a very disappointing season,” said Reasso. “I don’t think we got the results that our good play deserved but it was also a very exciting year because our young group showed a lot of potential. We were fourth in shots and corner kicks in the BIG EAST at the end of the regular season which meant we created a lot of opportunities but we didn’t finish our chances.”
The team then went on to defeat Manhattan 3-0 in their second game during which McFadden tallied three assists, including two that led to a pair of goals by Duka. For Duka, it was the first of four two-goal performances on the year with Rutgers going 4-0 in those contests.
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Ibrahim Kamara
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Rutgers continued its season with a very physical battle against St. Peter’s College that ended in a scoreless tie after 110 minutes of play. Although neither team was able to find the net, the Scarlet Knights dominated much of the scoring opportunities from the midway point of the first half until the conclusion of the match as they outshot the Peacocks 17-10 and held a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Soon after, Rutgers was able to pick up some steam as they handed nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara its first loss of the season, a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. The Gauchos, who were ranked nationally by several media outlets, endured the upset as Duka scored two goals and Panuccio added the game-winner in the second half. The win was RU’s first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating USF on Oct. 20, 2007. For their performances against UCSB, Duka was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll, while Panuccio was named Rookie of the Week.
Despite coming off of such an emotional victory, the Scarlet Knights found it difficult to keep its momentum going as they went 0-2-1 in its first three conference matches. Rutgers opened BIG EAST play on the road in a tight game against Pittsburgh which saw Panuccio ejected with 20 minutes left and the Panthers went on to score the winning goal with RU down to 10 men.
As a result of the red card, Panuccio was required to sit out the game against West Virginia, which caused in a major shift in the Scarlet Knights’ lineup. Without one of its top scoring threats in the attacking third, Rutgers finished in a scoreless tie against the Mountaineers.
RU returned home to host No. 24 Georgetown. The Scarlet Knights suffered a hard-luck loss to the Hoyas as the trend continued for the squad with Rutgers falling behind in the first two minutes. Sophomore Aly Mazhar scored a goal in the 49th minute to tie the score at 1-1. A missed penalty kick opportunity which would have put the Scarlet Knights ahead in the second half proved costly as Georgetown scored the game-winner three minutes into the first overtime period.
Rutgers bounced back from the disheartening defeat to earn a victory at home against Seton Hall. Back-to-back goals in a two minute span from Duka helped to erase a 1-0 deficit as RU defeated its in-state and conference rival. Duka picked up his second nod of the season to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll for his play against the Pirates.
The Scarlet Knights went on to face DePaul at Yurcak Field in a scoreless tie, followed by a 2-0 loss at Villanova, but Rutgers would respond with a valiant 3-2 victory over a tough Syracuse team on the road. The victory gave RU three points in the conference standings and kept their BIG EAST tournament hopes alive.
Although the Scarlet Knights found a way to win in their see-saw battle against Syracuse, they were unable to carry over that winning momentum into its next three away contests. Rutgers dropped three straight, including a critical conference matchup. RU lost 3-0 at Princeton, 1-0 at Cincinnati and 2-1 at NJIT to close out its five-match road stretch.
Rutgers snapped the brief skid with an upset victory over 14th-ranked Louisville at Yurcak Field. Extremely wet conditions wreaked havoc on the field and a lightening delay suspended play for nearly 45 minutes but that did not unnerve the Scarlet Knights. RU took an early lead with a goal from McLarney and Panuccio would add a second goal to give the Scarlet Knights the 2-1 win.
The poor weather conditions against the Cardinals proved to be a harbinger for how the remainder of the season would play out for the Scarlet Knights. Severe rains and poor field conditions caused the Rutgers-St. John’s matchup to be postponed to the following week. Instead of its scheduled Tuesday matchup with the Red Storm followed by a three day layoff before closing out the year at USF, RU was forced to travel to Tampa to take on the Bulls on Saturday and return home to face St. John’s on the very next Monday.
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Dilly Duka
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Facing three-straight ranked opponents, Rutgers dropped a 1-0 contest at USF despite outshooting the Bulls. With the game scoreless, the Scarlet Knights missed a penalty kick and the rebound was shot wide of the goal as USF went on to win.
RU returned home to host St. John’s where it suffered a 1-0 season-ending loss. The Scarlet Knights maintained their hopes to earn a bid into the BIG EAST Championship up until its final game of the year, but the final loss kept Rutgers one spot out of the 12-team field.
“I think the short turnaround was one of the reasons we came out flat against St. John’s,” said Reasso. “[St. John’s] had an extra day of rest and they played at home and didn’t have to travel like we did. We were very lethargic in the first 10 minutes and they scored early but our guys showed great courage when we went down a man for 60-something minutes. We continued to battle and create chances.”
Despite not advancing to the BIG EAST Tournament, there were a number of highlights during the 2008 campaign for the Scarlet Knights to hang their hats on. At season’s end, Duka further cemented his name among the conference’s elite players as the sophomore was recognized for his dynamic play, earning second team All-BIG EAST honors.
The future looks bright for Rutgers soccer as this young squad will take the extra year of experience on the field and use it to continue their growth and development. Reasso and his staff will look to put the finishing pieces together and victories will surely translate.
“I know this group is going to get better,” said Reasso. “We have to add a couple pieces but if you look at great performances for the year, I thought Dilly [Duka] and Yannick [Salmon] played very well. Robbie [McLarney] played like a veteran and a lot of the young guys particularly Gaetano [Panuccio] showed a lot.
“There is a lot of promise and potential and I’m really excited about the future for this group. They grew up a lot. They saw a lot of big games. They beat UC Santa Barbara and Louisville, two top ranked teams and played the other three top 25 teams on even ground.”
