Men's Soccer Travels to No. 16 Michigan State
Sep 25 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (September 25, 2014) - The Rutgers men's soccer team faces its second-straight Top 25 opponent when the Scarlet Knights travel to No. 16 Michigan State for a 1 p.m. kick on Sunday.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Rutgers men's soccer team begins a three-game road trip starting with a meeting with No. 16 Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan on Sunday.
The Scarlet Knights are looking to snap a two-game slide following their 3-2 overtime win over Wisconsin in their inaugural Big Ten contest back on Sept. 12.
Following Sunday's meeting with the Spartans, RU will travel to Penn State, the Big Ten regular season champions, on Sat. October 4 and head down Route 1 to meet up with Princeton on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Sunday's meeting with the Spartans will mark RU's second straight game against a Top 25 opponent and its first against a nationally ranked squad on the road.
WELCOME TO THE B1G SHOW
The Scarlet Knights are currently 1-1 in the Big Ten and 1-0 on the road in their new conference.
Rutgers is coming off 2-1 setback to No. 14 Indiana last Saturday night in its first-ever Big Ten home match. Freshman Niel Guzman evened the match at 1-1 in the 40th minute, but a goal from the Hoosiers' Tanner Thompson in the 65th capped the Hoosier's 2-1 win.
Sophomore goalkeeper David Greczek put forth a valiant effort in the loss making seven saves on the night, including a diving penalty kick save in the first half with the game still scoreless.
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State enters Sunday's contest with an overall mark of 5-1-1 and 1-0-0 record in the Big Ten. The Spartans are currently ranked at No. 16 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Poll, at No. 17 by Soccer America, at No. 13 by College Soccer News and at No. 15 Top Drawer Soccer.
The Spartans have allowed only one goal in their seven matches played to date and have permitted just 17 shots on goal.
MSU has rattled off three-straight victories - all 1-0 wins - against Loyola-Chicago, Maryland and most recently, Bowling Green on Wednesday night.
While seven different Spartans have registered a goal on the season, junior midfielder Jason Stacy leads Michigan with five points (1G, 3A).
In net, junior Zach Bennett is holding down a 0.14 goals against average, ranking him second in the nation in the category. He also has a .941 save percentage, which is third nationally.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH MICHIGAN STATE
Rutgers and Michigan State meet for the first time.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Freshman forward Jason Wright also is currently fourth among all Big Ten scorers and is averaging 0.43 goals per game. Fellow forward JP Correa, meanwhile, is listed in a 10-way tie for seventh in scoring in the league.
With seven saves against the Hooisers last Saturday night, goalkeeper David Greczek has registered 14 career games with five or more stops. He currently has 145 career saves in 27 games played. He currently ranks second in the Big Ten in saves (37) and saves per game (5.29).
UP NEXT
The Rutgers men's soccer team travels to No. 7 Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 4. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersMensSoccer) 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-
