Men's Soccer Shutout by Monmouth, 3-0

Tuesday, September 16

Piscataway, NJ

7:00 PM

Rutgers University

3-3

Monmouth

4-1

Monmouth

Rutgers

Sep 16 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 16, 2014

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (September 16, 2014) - The Rutgers men's soccer team returned to Yurcak Field on Tuesday night, suffering a 3-0 loss to in-state rival Monmouth.

The loss dropped the Scarlet Knights to 3-3 on the season, while the Hawks improved to 4-1 overall in their third straight victory.

While RU managed to outshoot Monmouth, 17-8, it was the Hawks who were able to capitalize on chances after the Scarlet Knights were unable to convert.

Monmouth held a 1-0 intermission lead, getting onto the scoreboard in the 33^rd minute of action. The Hawks' Dave Nigro played the ball up the middle to Dom Sarle, whose slight hesitation threw off the RU defense and allowed Monmouth's leading scorer to find the back of the net from the top of the 18-yard box.

Looking for a second straight second half comeback after last Friday's 3-2 win at Wisconsin, Rutgers increased pressure up front, getting off 11 second half shots. None of the attempts, however, were unable to translate onto the scoreboard.

Nigro gave Monmouth a 2-0 cushion in the 65^th minute. Bryant Avalos played the ball in from the left side of the Scarlet Knight cage across to Nigro 10 yards out.

Avalos then knocked in the third Hawk goal of the evening taking a Sarle cross for a tap in from the right post in the 78^th minute.

Eleven different Scarlet Knights got into the shooting mix led by four attempts by sophomore midfielder Erik Sa (Watchung, N.J.), while freshman Brandon Tetro (Freehold, N.J.), junior Rayon Gibbs (Jackson, Miss.) and Miles Hackett (Montclair, N.J.) each had a pair of looks.

Sophomore goalkeeper David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) finished the evening with three saves. Monmouth's Eric Klenofksy, who led the nation in goals against average a season ago, made five stops in the win.

"We have Indiana coming in here, one of the top teams in the country, and we have every opportunity to come back out here and have another response and do something positive," said head coach Dan Donigan. "We need to have more consistency. I give credit to Monmouth, they were very efficient in what they did. I thought we played pretty well in the first half, but when you give up a goal and go down, there has to be a reaction."

The Rutgers men's soccer team returns to action in its Big Ten home opener on Saturday, Sept. 20 against Indiana. Kickoff at Yurcak Field is set for 7 p.m.

KNIGHT NOTES

· Outshooting Monmouth, 17-8, the Scarlet Knights have had the advantage in shots in five of its six contests.

· Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week JP Correa ended the night with one shot coming on net in the game's 64^th minute with Rutgers down 1-0 off a corner kick by Erik Sa. Sa's insert bounced around the box until Correa headed the ball from the right post, but was saved by Monmouth netminder Eric Klenofsky.

· The Hawks picked up its first win over the Scarlet Knights in 12 meetings.

· With his three saves, goalkeeper David Greczek now has 138 career saves.

· Rutgers will host Indiana on Saturday ending its two-game homestand at Yurcak Field. Following the Big Ten home opener, the Scarlet Knights will hit the road for its next three contests with stops at Michigan State, Penn State and Princeton.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook () and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RUMensSoccer) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.

-RU-