PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's soccer remained unbeaten on the season, as the Scarlet Knights took down Penn by a 1-0 final score on Monday night at Yurcak Field. Junior
Anthony O'Donnell scored his first career goal to help RU improve to 7-0-1 on the season, the Scarlet Knights' best start to a season since 1985. Penn drops to 3-2-1.
It was RU's fifth shutout of the season. The Scarlet Knights outshot the Quakers 10-5 and had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Rutgers remains unbeaten in its past five matchups with Penn, dating back to 2007.
"The guys battled hard," coach
Jim McElderry said. "It's a game we expected to be difficult. UPenn is a good side. The first half was fairly tight. We had a few chances but couldn't convert. The second half, we came out well. It was nice to score on a set piece. We hadn't scored on a set piece like that this year, we'd been close a couple of times on a similar play. I was impressed how O'Donnell got up and got his head on it, it was a great goal."
The Scarlet Knights had the better of play in the opening half. 20 minutes in, RU had a great chance offensively, with a header chance off a cross from the far side. However, the offsides flag halted the play. RU also had a chance halted by the right post. The home side held a 4-1 advantage in shots in the opening frame, but the contest went into halftime still scoreless.
In the second half, Rutgers struck 14 minutes into the frame. The Scarlet Knights earned a free kick and
Matthew Acosta stepped up to take it. He slid the ball over to a waiting
Thomas DeVizio on the right side, who sent a cross into the box.
Anthony O'Donnell leapt in and headed it home the goal for a 1-0 advantage.
Oren Asher would come up big at the horn to preserve the shutout, making his lone save of the contest in the waning seconds on a long blast at the goal.
Up next for the Scarlet Knights is the first home Big Ten game of the season, as RU welcomes in Wisconsin on Friday night. That contest commences at 7 p.m.
"This was a great team performance," O'Donnell said. "Like coach says, it's about strength in numbers. It was a great ball from Tommy and I was happy to be able to put the ball in. A great team effort, and now we have to keep it going for the next game."
Follow Rutgers men's soccer on Twitter and Instagram (@RUMensSoccer) for all of the latest news and updates. The team is also on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/RutgersMensSoccer). For all Rutgers Athletics news follow us on Twitter (@RUAthletics), Instagram (@RUAthletics), and Facebook (
www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics). For additional updates, please download the
Gameday App.
