PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Freshman Jørgen Wisth Lie buried a PK in the 51^st minute to lift the Rutgers men's soccer team to a 1-0 season opening win over the Temple Owls on Thursday night at the Temple Sports Complex.
 

MATCH SUMMARY

• It was a 0-0 stalemate at the half with both the Owls and Scarlet Knight registering three shots apiece at the intermission.
• Freshman Chris Tiao was tripped up inside the box in the game's 51^st minute setting up classmate Jørgen Wisth Lie to place the PK into the lower right side of the net.
• Freshman Oren Asher preserved the shutout with five saves in his Scarlet Knight debut, including two critical stops in the game's final four minutes.

KEY STATS

• Rutgers prevailed despite the Owls leading in shots 15-7 and corner kicks 6-2.
• Seven different Scarlet Knights logged a shot, with Kyle Galloway and Thomas DeVizio's attempts on goal.

 

KNIGHT NOTES

• The Scarlet Knights improved to 39-30-10 all-time in openers.
• It was the first Rutgers season opening win since 2015
• Jørgen Wisth Lie was the first freshman since 2014 to net a game-winner in a season opener.
• Six newcomers appeared in the staring XI – Oren Asher, Hugo Le Guennec, Jørgen Wisth Lie , Jackson Temple, Chris Tiao and Randy Arronis.
• Also making first career appearances were Keegan Vedder, Valentino Ambrosio and Anthony O'Donnell.
• Asher picked up his first career shutout in his first career appearance.
• Rutgers' last shutout to open the season was a 1-0 victory over UMKC in 2014.

MATCH QUOTES

"I thought it was a pretty typical, tight college soccer game at the beginning of the year in terms of both teams trying to figure how they want to play and what roles are on the teams. We had a few guys who didn't play tonight that could still play big roles on the team. I'm really happy with the commitment level our guys have shown all throughout preseason and the way they battled and did not concede a goal against a good Temple team." – Head Coach Jim McElderry

"I feel comfortable taking penalties. When we got the penalty I knew I was going to score. When I saw the goalkeeper go the wrong way, I knew it was a goal. It was a great feeling in our first game and an important win. Everyone is working hard and happy we won the game." - Freshman Jørgen Wisth Lie
 

UP NEXT

It's another game in Philadelphia for the Scarlet Knights when Rutgers men's soccer meets Drexel at Vidas Field on Monday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m.

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