MSOC Hosts Northwestern in B1G Quarterfinals
Nov 06 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The postseason gets underway for the Rutgers men's soccer team on Sunday as the fourth seeded Scarlet Knights host fifth seeded Northwestern at 1 p.m. at Yurcak Field. The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
| Game Eighteen - Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 4 Rutgers (11-5-1, 4-4-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 5 Northwestern (7-8-2, 4-4-0 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Sunday, Nov. 8 |
| Time | 1:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | Piscataway, N.J. | Yurcak Field |
| Video | BTN Plus (Lou Brogno) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Northwestern |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Northwestern |
| Tickets: | $7 adult | $5 child (under 12)/senior | Rutgers Students Free With ID |
| Big Ten Tournament News | Tournament Central | Tournament Bracket |
TOURNAMENT TIME
The Rutgers men's soccer team enters postseason as the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament finishing in a three-way tie for third place in the conference after posting a 4-4-0 record in league play. The Scarlet Knights host No. 5 Northwestern on Sunday at 1 p.m.
WEEKEND TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 7 (first round)
No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 9 Penn State, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 8 (quarterfinals)
No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 7 Wisconsin, 1 p.m., BTN Plus
No. 3 Maryland vs. No. 6 Michigan, 1 p.m., BTN Plus
No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Northwestern, 1 p.m., BTN Plus
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8/9 Winner, 4 p.m., BTN
B1G HONORS
Sophomore forward Jason Wright was a unanimous selection as Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, head coach Dan Donigan was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year and a total of six Scarlet Knights earned postseason honors from the league it was announced on Friday on the eve of the Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament.
Wright was also a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, while three other Scarlet Knights were named Second Team All-Big Ten - senior midfielder Mitchell Taintor, senior defender Mitch Lurie and junior goalkeeper David Greczek. Rookie midfielder Brian Hawkins was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and senior defender Drew Morgan was Rutgers' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.
B1G STATS
Entering the weekend, Jason Wright is the league leader in points (29) and goals (13) and game-winners (5).
Miles Hackett checks in fourth in points (17) and tied for third goals (7), while JP Correa is tied for second in game-winning goals (3) and tied for 10th in points (13). Correa and Erik Sa are both tied for third in assists (5).
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
As a team, Rutgers appears in the top 10 in two national categories which include ranking seventh in both points per game (6.41) and total points (109).
Individually, Jason Wright ranks third in total goals (13), fourth in goals per game (0.76), sixth in game-winning goals (5) and total points (29) and eighth in points per game (1.71) among all Division I players.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern joined Rutgers and Maryland in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten with a 4-4-0 conference record. Overall, the Wildcats closed out the regular season with a 7-8-2 mark.
Following its 4-2 loss at home to Rutgers, the Wildcats went 2-2-1, which included a double overtime 1-1 draw with No. 8 Notre Dame.
The Wildcats are led by Joey Calistri with 12 points (3G, 6A) and followed by Mike Roberge with nine points (4G, 1A) and Elo Ozumba with six points (3G).
In goal, Zak Allen is holding down a 1.41 goals against average and .762 save percentage. He has made 80 saves and registered two shutouts on the year.
LAST TIME VS. NORTHWESTERN
The Rutgers men's soccer team won the fourth game of a seven-game win streak with a 4-2 victory over Northwestern on Oct. 16 at Toyota Park.
The Scarlet Knights established a 3-0 lead before Northwestern scored twice within a five-minute span to drop Rutgers down to a 3-2 edge with just over 21 minutes to play. A minute after the Wildcats sliced their deficit to one, Jason Wright captured his 11th goal of the season.
Goalkeeper David Greczek came up with five critical saves for Rutgers, including stopping a Wildcat PK in the 20th minute after RU had already generated a 1-0 lead.
For the second-straight game the combo of a Mitch Lurie corner kick and Drew Morgan header put the Scarlet Knights on the scoreboard. Morgan's goal, his second of the season, gave RU a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.
Greczek helped to preserve the Scarlet Knight edge after stopping a potential equalizer. The junior Scarlet Knight stopped a penalty kick awarded to Joey Calistri in the 20th minute.
Freshman Brian Hawkins added in the game's second score in the 26th minute. Hawkins scored off rebound followed a saved shot by Wright on right side of box.
Greczek had another big save in the closing minute of the opening stanza. He stopped a one-on-one with the Wildcats' Jeffrey Hopson to keep RU up by two heading into the intermission.
RU went up 3-0 in the 60th minute as sophomore Miles Hackett (Montclair, N.J.) captured what would be the game-winner from 20-yards out at the top of the circle following a feed from senior Mitchell Taintor.
Within minutes thought, RU's three-goal advantage was reduced to one.
Countering off a Scarlet Knight corner, Northwestern's Cole Missimo flicked in the ball from the left of the box the 64th minute, while in the 69th minute the Wildcats Elo Ozumba got into the RU goal from the ride side.
With Rutgers holding on to a 3-2 lead, the Scarlet Knights' leading scorer responded less than a minute later to put away an insurance goal. Senior Tyler Morris split a pair of Wildcat defenders to set up Wright, this week's NSCAA and Big Ten Player of the Week, to find the gap from the left side of the 18.
Greczek added three more stops in the second half to end the night with five saves. Zak Allen made five saves as well for the Wildcats as the Scarlet Knights outshot their opponent, 15-13.
B1G TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Rutgers will be making its second Big Ten Tournament appearance. Last year, the Scarlet Knights were the No. 8 seed and defeated No. 9 Wisconsin, 5-2, in the play-in game before their tournament run was halted by top-seed and eventual Big Ten Champion, Maryland, 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
SEVEN IN-A-ROW
The Scarlet Knights had its seven-game win streak snapped on Wednesday night in a 3-1 loss at Maryland in the regular season finale.
During the streak, RU outscored the opposition, 16-4, with goals from seven different Scarlet Knights, and outshot its opponents, 105-77.
It was the longest win streak since 1997, when the Scarlet Knights rattled off nine consecutive victories. That season, Rutgers went 14-7-2 overall and won the BIG EAST title.
HOME SWEET HOME
Rutgers closed out the home portion of its regular season slate last Saturday afternoon against Nebraska-Omaha with a 1-0 victory. RU went 5-3-0 at Yurcak Field, winning three-straight at home to close out the regular season.
To date, the Scarlet Knights have outscored their opponents, 20-10, and outshot the opposition, 145-77, at home.
NEWS AROUND THE NET
Goalkeeper David Greczek is currently fourth all-time at Rutgers in saves. The junior has made 251 stops since stepping foot "On The Banks".
Among all active Division I goalkeepers, Greczek ranked 10th in career saves (251) and seventh in saves per game (4.65).
The junior netminder has seven shutouts this season - Monmouth, Loyola, Michigan, Penn, Army West Point, Ohio State and Omaha - and has recorded 14.5 shutouts in his career. His seven clean sheets this season are the most since Ricky Zinter's seven shutouts in 2000.
Greczek has registered 22 career games making five or more stops in his career and five contests with eight or more saves.
UP NEXT
The winner between Rutgers and Northwestern will advance to the Big Ten semifinals and face the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 1 Ohio State and the play-in contest. The semifinal will be hosted by the remaining highest top seed out of the quarterfinals.
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