Tuesday, September 26
Princeton, N.J.
7:00 PM
Rutgers University
at
Princeton
Photo by: Rich Graessle
Men's Soccer Travels To Princeton
Sep 25 | Men's Soccer
Scarlet Knights & Tigers Kickoff at 7 p.m. on ESPNU
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers closes out the month of September with a short road trip down Route 1 to meet the Princeton Tigers at Roberts Stadium at 7:00 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU with Dave Leno and Aleco Eskandarian on the call.
IN-STATE RIVALS
The longest standing rivalry in the RU record books, Rutgers and Princeton will meet for the 59th time in history.
Rutgers is coming off facing its fourth top ten opponent of the season and sixth opponent ranked in last week's United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Scarlet Knights fell to No. 2 Indiana, 5-0, on Friday night.
The Hoosiers entered the game as the nation's fourth ranked defense. With the win, Indiana also remained one of 10 unbeaten teams in Division I, along with fellow Big Ten members Michigan State and Maryland, who the Scarlet Knights have already faced.
In goal, junior Rafael Pereira made a season-high seven stops against the Hoosiers. He currently leads the Big Ten and is tied for eighth nationally in saves per game (5.40).
Redshirt junior Miles Hackett led the RU offense with four shots, including a pair of headers at the far post that were saved by Hoosier keeper Trey Muse.
ABOUT PRINCETON
Princeton picked up its first win of the 2017 season on Saturday against No. 21 Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-0, to improve to 1-3-2 on the year.
The Tigers will open up Ivy League play after taking on the Scarlet Knights with Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Both Princeton goals against the Knights came early with junior forward Will Lentz putting away the game-winner on a header in the 80th minute. The Tigers added in an insurance goal from senior midfielder Daniel Bowkett in the 86th minute.
Junior forward/midfielder Jeremy Colvin leads Princeton with five points (2G, 1A) followed by Bowkett with four points (1G, 2A) and senior defender James Reiner with a pair of tallies.
In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Schachner holds a 1.21 goals against average and .733 save percentage.
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON
Rutgers men's soccer played host to in-state and long-time rival Princeton on October 11, 2016 with the Tigers emerging with the 4-1 victory. Dante Perez, who finished the 2016 campaign as RU's second leading scorer, notched his third of five goals on the season.
Princeton broke open scoring in the 18th minute and added another pair of goals before the intermission.
Sean McSherry put the Tigers up 1-0 dribbling at the top of the 18 before shooting into the far post followed by Vikram Pothuri scoring what would be the game-winner in the 35th minute of play. Jeremy Colvin set up the play from the left side of the field finding Pothuri at the penalty mark for the shot.
Less than two minutes later, Princeton's Greg Siefert had an attempt saved at the far post, but Harry Heffernan collected the rebound for the night's third goal.
Perez put the Rutgers up on the scoreboard in the 55th minute of play. In the scramble with the Princeton defense, Perez emerged with the ball to strike from eight-yards out.
The Tigers, however, would add an insurance tally in the 80th minute. Benjamin Issroff sent a long pass into the near post. Tiger teammate Benjamin Martin directed a header to the center of the Scarlet Knight net for Seifert at eight-yards out for the header into the goal.
Princeton ended the night with a 14-6 advantage in shots. Rutgers held a 9-4 edge in corners.
Goalkeeper David Greczek posted four saves in the loss, while Princeton's Josh Haberman logged one stop.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NATION
With five games against the current top 10 through the first nine games of the season, the Rutgers men's soccer team is currently playing the toughest schedule in the nation.
RU faced two of the country's best during opening weekend with 2016 national runner-up, No. 2 Wake Forest, and 2016 national semifinalist, No. 4 North Carolina. Rutgers has also clashed with current No. 6 Michigan State to open up Big Ten play on Sept. 9 and immediately followed with No. 3 Maryland.
More recently, Rutgers has clashed with Ohio State, who entered the Top 25 last week, and No. 2 Indiana and will welcome Wisconsin in its next game, a team who is receiving votes in the Sept. 19 polls.
RU also faced No. 2 Indiana on the road on Sept. 22 and hosts Wisconsin, who is receiving votes this week, on Oct. 1.
Toughest Schedules
Team (Opponents - Current Rank)
1. Rutgers - (No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 22 Michigan, No. 25 Ohio State, RV Wisconsin)
2. Virginia Tech (No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Clemson, No. 9 Virginia, No. 10 Louisville, No. 17 Pacific, No. 23 Omaha, RV Duke)
3. Michigan (No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Maryland, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 23 Omaha, No. 25 Ohio State, RV Wisconsin )
4. Cal Poly (No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Maryland, RV Portland)
5. LIU Brooklyn (No. 12 Western Michigan, No. 21 FDU)
B1G CHALLENGE
Of the four teams Rutgers has already faced in conference, all four are currently ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, three are listed among the top 10 and three are among the 10 teams around Division I who are unbeaten.
UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's road trip, the Scarlet Knights return home for a doubleheader at Yurcak Field on Sunday, October 1 with both the men's and women's squads hosting Wisconsin on BTN. The women's game kicks off at 1 p.m. followed by the men's kicking off at 3:30 p.m. Dean Linke and Chris Doran will be on the call for BTN.
Follow Rutgers men's soccer 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.
IN-STATE RIVALS
The longest standing rivalry in the RU record books, Rutgers and Princeton will meet for the 59th time in history.
Rutgers is coming off facing its fourth top ten opponent of the season and sixth opponent ranked in last week's United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Scarlet Knights fell to No. 2 Indiana, 5-0, on Friday night.
The Hoosiers entered the game as the nation's fourth ranked defense. With the win, Indiana also remained one of 10 unbeaten teams in Division I, along with fellow Big Ten members Michigan State and Maryland, who the Scarlet Knights have already faced.
In goal, junior Rafael Pereira made a season-high seven stops against the Hoosiers. He currently leads the Big Ten and is tied for eighth nationally in saves per game (5.40).
Redshirt junior Miles Hackett led the RU offense with four shots, including a pair of headers at the far post that were saved by Hoosier keeper Trey Muse.
ABOUT PRINCETON
Princeton picked up its first win of the 2017 season on Saturday against No. 21 Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-0, to improve to 1-3-2 on the year.
The Tigers will open up Ivy League play after taking on the Scarlet Knights with Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Both Princeton goals against the Knights came early with junior forward Will Lentz putting away the game-winner on a header in the 80th minute. The Tigers added in an insurance goal from senior midfielder Daniel Bowkett in the 86th minute.
Junior forward/midfielder Jeremy Colvin leads Princeton with five points (2G, 1A) followed by Bowkett with four points (1G, 2A) and senior defender James Reiner with a pair of tallies.
In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Schachner holds a 1.21 goals against average and .733 save percentage.
LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON
Rutgers men's soccer played host to in-state and long-time rival Princeton on October 11, 2016 with the Tigers emerging with the 4-1 victory. Dante Perez, who finished the 2016 campaign as RU's second leading scorer, notched his third of five goals on the season.
Princeton broke open scoring in the 18th minute and added another pair of goals before the intermission.
Sean McSherry put the Tigers up 1-0 dribbling at the top of the 18 before shooting into the far post followed by Vikram Pothuri scoring what would be the game-winner in the 35th minute of play. Jeremy Colvin set up the play from the left side of the field finding Pothuri at the penalty mark for the shot.
Less than two minutes later, Princeton's Greg Siefert had an attempt saved at the far post, but Harry Heffernan collected the rebound for the night's third goal.
Perez put the Rutgers up on the scoreboard in the 55th minute of play. In the scramble with the Princeton defense, Perez emerged with the ball to strike from eight-yards out.
The Tigers, however, would add an insurance tally in the 80th minute. Benjamin Issroff sent a long pass into the near post. Tiger teammate Benjamin Martin directed a header to the center of the Scarlet Knight net for Seifert at eight-yards out for the header into the goal.
Princeton ended the night with a 14-6 advantage in shots. Rutgers held a 9-4 edge in corners.
Goalkeeper David Greczek posted four saves in the loss, while Princeton's Josh Haberman logged one stop.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NATION
With five games against the current top 10 through the first nine games of the season, the Rutgers men's soccer team is currently playing the toughest schedule in the nation.
RU faced two of the country's best during opening weekend with 2016 national runner-up, No. 2 Wake Forest, and 2016 national semifinalist, No. 4 North Carolina. Rutgers has also clashed with current No. 6 Michigan State to open up Big Ten play on Sept. 9 and immediately followed with No. 3 Maryland.
More recently, Rutgers has clashed with Ohio State, who entered the Top 25 last week, and No. 2 Indiana and will welcome Wisconsin in its next game, a team who is receiving votes in the Sept. 19 polls.
RU also faced No. 2 Indiana on the road on Sept. 22 and hosts Wisconsin, who is receiving votes this week, on Oct. 1.
Toughest Schedules
Team (Opponents - Current Rank)
1. Rutgers - (No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 22 Michigan, No. 25 Ohio State, RV Wisconsin)
2. Virginia Tech (No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Clemson, No. 9 Virginia, No. 10 Louisville, No. 17 Pacific, No. 23 Omaha, RV Duke)
3. Michigan (No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Maryland, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 23 Omaha, No. 25 Ohio State, RV Wisconsin )
4. Cal Poly (No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Maryland, RV Portland)
5. LIU Brooklyn (No. 12 Western Michigan, No. 21 FDU)
B1G CHALLENGE
Of the four teams Rutgers has already faced in conference, all four are currently ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, three are listed among the top 10 and three are among the 10 teams around Division I who are unbeaten.
UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's road trip, the Scarlet Knights return home for a doubleheader at Yurcak Field on Sunday, October 1 with both the men's and women's squads hosting Wisconsin on BTN. The women's game kicks off at 1 p.m. followed by the men's kicking off at 3:30 p.m. Dean Linke and Chris Doran will be on the call for BTN.
Follow Rutgers men's soccer 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.
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Players Mentioned
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