Salmon Receives National Recognition For Outstanding Performance
Sep 21 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers junior Yannick Salmon (Westbury, N.Y.), who guided the Scarlet Knights to a pair of BIG EAST victories, received two weekly awards for his performance over the weekend. Salmon was named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week and tabbed by the conference as the Offensive Player of the Week, it was announced Monday. He also received ECAC honors.
“I’m excited, it’s my first time winning an award in college,” said Salmon. “But [the credit] really goes to my teammates. I had a good game [against Connecticut] but my team played even better. I think there were a lot of guys that, had they not have played as good as they did, we wouldn’t have won. It’s not only me, it goes to the team.
“We’re doing well. After the Santa Barbara game, we told ourselves that it’s basically the start of a new season. The BIG EAST is starting now and every game that happened already didn’t really matter up until now. Our goal is to win the BIG EAST and it starts here. I think we’re progressing really well towards it.”
Salmon led the Scarlet Knights (4-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) to a 2-0 record over the weekend, scoring two game-winners as RU downed Providence in double overtime and came from behind to defeat Connecticut in BIG EAST action.
Rutgers and Providence went back and forth in its matchup on Friday with the Scarlet Knights striking first for a 1-0 lead, 50 seconds into the second half. The Friars tied the game at one with a goal in the 60th minute, sending the contest into extra time. With just over a minute remaining in the second overtime period, RU found the game winner as sophomore Bryant Knibbs (Pine Bush, N.Y.) sent a throw into the box where Salmon was able to get a head on it and flick it into the back of the net.
Against Connecticut, Rutgers fell behind early as the Huskies notched the game’s first score in the 10th minute. In his most prolific offensive performance of his collegiate career to date, Salmon tallied the equalizer and the game-winner in a seven-minute span as the Scarlet Knights came from behind to top UConn.
Salmon converted on a penalty kick in the 61st minute to tie the game and followed with a stellar display of technical skill as he beat a number of Connecticut defenders across the face of the goal and drilled a strike past Huskies goalkeeper Josh Ford for the winner.
Primarily a defensive player in his first season with the Scarlet Knights, Salmon had not scored a collegiate goal until the season-opener against Towson (Sept. 1), however, this season he moved into a bigger role in the attacking third and it has paid dividends for Rutgers. He has a team-best four goals on the year, including three in the past two games.
Rutgers will play a pair of road conference matches at Seton Hall on Friday, Sept. 25 and Georgetown on Sunday, Sept. 27, before returning to Yurcak Field against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 2.
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