COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Rutgers men's soccer team's win streak came to an end on Wednesday night as the Maryland Terrapins upended the No. 16 Scarlet Knights, 3-1, in the regular season finale.
The loss, which snapped a seven-game win streak for the Scarlet Knights, dropped RU to 11-5-1 overall and 4-4-0 in the Big Ten. Rutgers finishes in fourth place in the final Big Ten standings and will host Northwestern on Sunday in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
In the win, Maryland improved to 8-5-4 overall and 3-2-3 in the Big Ten.
"It was a disappointing game, but our guys worked hard out there tonight. Maryland played very well. They jumped out on us early and it's hard to bounce back with the way Maryland can knock the ball around," said head coach Dan Donigan. "Now we have to rebound for Sunday. Our guys are still excited and we still have a lot to play for."
Eryk Williams put the Terps on the scoreboard in the 11th minute. David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) came up with diving one-handed save as Alex Crognale's header was on frame from the center of the goal six-yards out. Williams, however, collected the rebound at the right post to find the clearing at the opposite corner for the 1-0 Terp edge.
Maryland's second goal came in the 24th minute off from Tsubasa Endoh. Endoh hit the crossbar from 22 yards out and the ball dropped straight down at the goal line. While it appeared that Greczek came with another big save off the rebound, the sideline official ruled the initial shot that hit the crossbar had crossed the goal line.
The Scarlet Knights cut the deficit to one within minutes of the opening whistle. From the right sideline, Mitch Lurie (Atlanta, Ga.) sent his free kick into the box at the opposite side of the field where Miles Hackett (Montclair, N.J.) was at the far post to knock in his seventh goal of the campaign. Hackett's goal saw Rutgers trail 2-1 with 48 minutes left to play.
The Terps however extended its lead by two in the 55th minute as Williams registered his second goal of the evening. Maryland's David Kabelik raced into the box where Greczek ran out to stop the surge, getting a hand on the ball to stop the potential shot, but the deflection found its way to Williams to knock the ball into net.
Maryland outshot Rutgers, 17-10, with Hackett leading the Scarlet Knights with seven shots. In goal, Greczek finished with six saves, while Maryland's Cody Niedermeier made two stops to preserve the victory.
The Rutgers men's soccer team returns to the field on Sunday, Nov. 8 against fifth-seeded Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at 1 p.m.
KNIGHT NOTES
- RU's seven-game win streak was RU's longest since the 1997 season when the Scarlet Knights collected nine-straight wins.
- Miles Hackett scored his seventh goal of the season and upped his career point total to 19 points (7G, 5A).
- Mitch Lurie captured his fifth assist of the 2015 campaign and seventh assist of his career.
- David Greczek registered his 22nd career game with five or more saves. He has 251 career saves.
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