PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 22 Rutgers men's soccer team's unbeaten streak came to an end on Friday night at Yurcak Field as the Scarlet Knights dropped a 3-0 contest to Michigan State in their Big Ten home opener.
 

MATCH SUMMARY

• Michigan State scored the first of a trio of goals in the 29^th minute with Gianni Ferri on the takeaway  resulting in a score from the top of the 18.
• The Spartans made it 2-0 prior to the intermission off a restart situation. Farai Mutau received the free kick and from the right corner of the box found Olu Ogunwale six yards out for the shot inside the right post.
• Mutau also added in a second half tally in the 87^th minute with another Spartan takeaway from just outside the box and dribbled eight yards out to place the ball inside the left post.

KEY STATS

• Rutgers dropped its first game of the 2019 season to fall to 6-1-2 overall and 0-1-1 in Big Ten play.
• The Spartans, 2018 national semifinalists and one of three Big Ten teams in last year's College Cup, improved to 1-5-2 overall in their Big Ten opener.
• Michigan State outshot Rutgers, 13-9, with both teams equal with six shots each in the second half.
• Sophomore Pablo Ávila led the Scarlet Knight attack with three shots, while both of freshman Jackson Temple's attempts were on net.
• The Spartans also held a 6-5 edge in corners.
• Scarlet Knight keeper Oren Asher made six saves, while MSU's Hunter Morse made three stops.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers' season-opening unbeaten streak was stopped at eight games. It was the longest season opening unbeaten streak since 1985 when RU won eight straight to kickoff the year. 
• The Scarlet Knights' three-game home win streak was also halted.

MATCH QUOTES

"All three goals were against the run of play and it's something that can't happen at this level especially against this competition. These guys will punish us if we make mistakes like that, so at this point we just need to regroup, sharpen up and get ready for the national champions next week." - senior Jake Longo
 
"I think all the guys are disappointed with the result. We're in the Big Ten and teams are good. We got punished for a couple of mistakes tonight but the test for us is how do we bounce back, get after our next training session and prepare for our next opponent. It's been a great start to our season. The guys have done incredibly well. It's one match and we'll move onto the next one." – head coach Jim McElderry
 

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UP NEXT

The Rutgers men's soccer team continues Big Ten play traveling to defending national champion Maryland on Wednesday, Oct. 2 for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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