MSOC NCAA Run Ends in Second Round

Sunday, November 22

Akron, OH

4:00 PM

Rutgers University

12-7-2

Akron

16-3-2

Rutgers

Akron

Nov 22 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Nov. 22, 2015

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio -- The 2015 Rutgers men's soccer season came to a close on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 6-1 loss to the tournament's fourth seed and fifth ranked Akron at First Energy Stadium.

Rutgers ends the 2015 campaign at 12-7-3 overall reaching the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time and advancing to the second round of play for the 10th time in program history. RU's 12 wins are the most by the Scarlet Knights since the 2001 season.

Akron, who has gone unbeaten in 13 of its last 14 matches, improved to 16-3-2 and will meet either Denver or SMU in the third round.

"It was unfortunate we ended the season that way, but I'm still very proud of this team. Our (NCAA First Round) match on Thursday took a little bit out of our guys and it was evident because we've never played this way all year long," said head coach Dan Donigan. "It was unfortunate for that to be our last performance of the season because these guys deserve a lot better. I'm still incredibly proud of the overall season, the success these guys have achieved and what they've done for Rutgers University. Overall we've had a great season. There were only 32 teams playing today and we were one of them."

The Zips scored five goals in the game's first 18 minutes and added another score 15 minutes into the second half.

Victor Souto put Akron up on the scoreboard in the fifth minute converting a penalty kick. The Zips followed with back-to-back goals in the 12th minute by Stuart Holthusen and Richie Laryea and the two would later strike again for their second goals of the game in 17th and 18th minutes of action.

Sean Sepe rounded out Akron's scoring in the 60th minute, the Zips lone score of the second frame.

The Scarlet Knights thwarted the shutout late in the second half. Senior Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.) crossed into the box for freshman Sugor Al Awwad (Abu Dhabi, UAE) to bury his second goal of the year.

Junior goalkeeper David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) made six saves for the Scarlet Knights, who were outshot 25-10. His counterpart, Jake Fenlason, made two stops in the win, stopping two attempts by Taintor.

KNIGHT NOTES
- JP Correa, who was also a member of the 2011 NCAA team, finishes his career with 41 points (14G, 13A). He posted 13 points (4G, 5A) in 2015, which included three game winners, ranking him second in the category in the Big Ten.
- Mitchell Taintor closes out his career with 32 points (13G, 6A), including 15 points (5G, 5A) in his senior campaign. He notched five game-winners in his career, including RU's victory over Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
- Mitch Lurie, who played one season for the Scarlet Knights, started all 21 games for the defense and captured six assists in 2015. Under his watch, RU captured eight shutouts, the most since the 1998 season.
- Drew Morgan also started all 21 games on the defense. Including the eight shutouts this season, Morgan has helped the defense rack up 18 shutouts during his career. Morgan has recorded seven points (3G, 1A) in his career, including goals against Penn and Northwestern this season.
- Kieran Kemmerer made 21 appearances during his career with the Scarlet Knights. He was named to the All-Big Ten Academic Team and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
- Olisa Eze appeared in 26 contests in his time with the Scarlet Knights. He registered goal in RU's 8-0 victory over Loyola on Sept. 29.
- Netminder David Greczek, who made six saves against Akron, will enter next season with 271 career saves and 15.5 shutouts. He will need five more stops to move past All-American netminder Jon Conway (1996-99) into third on RU's all-time saves leaders list.

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-