Box Score Sept. 18, 2016 Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Junior Niel Guzman's header moments into the second half cut the Rutgers men's soccer team's deficit down to one after Ohio State took a 2-0 lead into the half. The Buckeyes, however, would add another score and take the 3-1 win at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Sunday.
Ohio State (2-5, 2-1 Big Ten) opened scoring in the fifth minute of play as Nate Kohl managed to slip the ball into the near post. The Buckeyes followed with Austin Berstrom converting a penalty kick in the 27th minute for the 2-0 lead.
RU had two chances late in the first half to get onto the scoreboard. Jason Wright broke open at midfield in the 36th minute, but as soon as the Kingston, Jamaica native crossed into the box, three Buckeye defenders converged forcing his shot to go wide right. Then in the closing minutes of the half, Ryan Peterson's restart in Ohio State territory tried to find Wright at the far post, but the ball landed just ahead of Wright and crossed out of bounds.
Scarlet Knight goalkeeper David Greczek made all five of his saves in the first half upping his career save mark to 303 and moving into a tie for second place in saves "On The Banks".
Rutgers (0-6, 0-3 Big Ten) looked to shift momentum in the second half scoring moments into the second stanza. Guzman headed in the serve from Peterson off a corner kick at the far post, cutting the Scarlet Knight deficit down to one, 2-1.
The Buckeyes responded under 10 minutes later off an Abdi Mohamed free kick from just outside the 18 going high into the left corner of the Scarlet Knight net.
While RU was outshot 11-2 in the first half, the two teams were evenly matched in shots at 5-5 in the second half.
"We gave up our last two goals on restart situations. We responded after going down 2-0, scoring right away in the second half. That goal gave us a shot of confidence and a boost and we were right back into the game," said head coach Dan Donigan. "Right now we need to look at how we keep up with our consistency. We feel that on any given day, even with one of toughest schedules in the nation, we have the ability to compete with these teams. All our energy and focus is now onto Indiana and getting that win on Friday."
The Rutgers men's soccer team is back in action on Friday, Sept. 23 against No. 3 Indiana in a doubleheader with the women's team. Kickoff with the Hoosiers is set for 8 p.m. Fans buying a ticket to see the RU women's soccer team face Northwestern at 5:30 p.m. will receive free admission into the men's game. Additionally, the first 100 fans will receive a voucher for $1 hotdogs.
KNIGHT NOTES:
- Niel Guzman's goal was the junior Scarlet Knight's second career goal. He currently has six points (2G, 2A) in his career.
- David Greczek became the third Scarlet Knight goalkeeper with over 300 career saves with his five stops against the Buckeyes. He is currently tied for second place on the all-time saves leaders list with 303 career stops.
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