PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's soccer team is moving on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after going to penalty kicks against LIU Brooklyn on Thursday night at Yurcak Field
The Scarlet Knights (12-6-2, 4-4-0 Big Ten) will meet fourth seeded Akron in Ohio on Sunday at 4 p.m.
After battling to a 1-1 tie after 110:00 minutes of action in sideways rain and with puddles building up on the playing surface, the game advanced to PKs where the Scarlet Knights edged out the Blackbirds, 3-2.
"Neither team could really play the way they wanted to because of the conditions. After going down 1-0 in the first half, we were fortunate, and somewhat deserving, that we got the goal back," said head coach Dan Donigan. "We had all the confidence in the world in David Greczek. He's come up big for us all year long and he came up big for us again tonight."
Junior goalkeeper David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) who made four saves during regulation and the two overtime periods, stopped three of LIU Brooklyn's five penalty kicks, while senior JP Correa (Montville, N.J.), senior Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.) and sophomore Brandon Tetro (Freehold, N.J.) all reached the back of the Blackbird net.
Greczek stopped the Blackbird's first attempt by NEC Rookie of the Year Rasmus Hansen and denied the final two kicks of the series. He halted Erik Wahlin's shot and sealed the Scarlet Knights advancement to it's 10th NCAA Second Round appearance in history after diving to his left to stop Raffi Gregorian's kick.
Rutgers had to play from behind as the NEC Champions had a 1-0 lead at the half. The Blackbirds struck in the 32nd minute capitalizing on a clear by the RU defense that saw the ball stop dead in its tracks in a puddle. Simen Hestnes took possession and fired into the near post from inside the 18.
Sophomore Ahmad Faheem (Flower Mound, Texas) netted the equalizer in the 76th minute on his first career goal. From near midfield, freshman Sheldon Mckoy (St. Catherine, Jamaica) sent the ball into the box, finding the foot of Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Jason Wright (Kingston, Jamaica). Wright tapped the ball to his right for Faheem to find the opening at the right post from 12 yards out. Despite outshooting the Blackbirds, 27-10, the Scarlet Knights were unable to find the go ahead goal resulting in the shootout.
Logan Keys, an All-NEC First Team selection who entered the game fifth nationally in save percentage, stopped seven Scarlet Knight shots on goal.
"My hats off to LIU. They are a great team. They have a very good, very talented team for the future and they are going to win a lot of ball games going forward," noted Donigan.
LIU Brooklyn ends its 2015 campaign at 11-5-5 overall.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Ahmad Faheem captured his first career goal in the NCAA First Round contest with LIU Brooklyn. He currently has three points on the season. Faheem had an assist in RU's 8-0 win over Loyola, one of six Scarlet Knights to capture an assist against the Greyhounds.
- Jason Wright registered his fifth assist of the year, upping his point total to 31 (13G, 5A). He currently has 56 points (23G, 10A) in his two seasons "On the Banks".
- Sheldon Mckoy posted his first assist as a Scarlet Knight and his first points since capturing a goal in RU's 4-1 victory at Indiana on Sept. 20.
- David Greczek upped his career save total to 265. He needs 11 more stops to surpass All-American goalkeeper Jon Conway (1996-99) for third on RU's all-time saves leaders list.
- Sunday's matchup with Akron marks the second meeting between the two schools in the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers also matched up with Akron in the Second Round back in 2003 with the Zips edging RU 3-2.
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