EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (6-3-5, 2-2-2) dropped a close 4-3 contest at Michigan State (6-5-2, 3-1-1) on Sunday afternoon. Hugo Le Guennec and Ola Maeland scored first half goals to lead the Scarlet Knights to tie the Spartans up twice, before MD Myers added one last score in the final minute of play.
Michigan State got on the board first with a quick goal in the 11th minute of play.
The early lead did not last however, as Le Guennec finished off a shot from Matthew Acosta to tie the contest up, 1-1, just 10 minutes later.
The Spartans continued to attack the goal, storming back in the 30th minute to regain the 2-1 edge. The Scarlet Knights stayed hungry too though, as MD Myers controlled the restart and found Maeland for the equalizer just 17 seconds later to knot the score back up, 2-all.
With just over four minutes remaining in the first half, MSU scored the fifth goal of the first 45 minutes the two teams to once again retake the 3-2 edge.
In the 74th minute Michigan State struck again to build on its advantage, 4-2.
RU stayed aggressive however, as Myers found the back of the net in the 90th minute to give the team their third goal of the day and cut into the lead, 3-2.
Goals
11' (MSU) Jonathan Stout – Sala Louis and Will Perkins
21' (RU) Hugo Le Guennec (2) – Matthew Acosta
30' (MSU) Jonathan St. Stout – Sala Louis
30' (RU) Ola Maeland (2) – MD Myers
41' (MSU) Kellan St. Landefeld – Jonathan Stout and Jake Spadafora
74' (MSU) Greyson Mercer – Jonathan Stout
90' (RU) MD Myers (12) – Jackson Temple and Cole Cruthers
Game Notes
- Myers' last second goal marks his 12th of the season, making him the only player in the Big Ten with double-digit scores. With 28 points, he is also the only player in the conference with 20+ points.
- Through 14 games this campaign, Myers has scored in nine contests, including the last five. He has also recorded points in 10 of 14 outings.
- With an assist on Myers' goal, Temple now leads the team with six helpers and ranks second with 16 points.
- Le Guennec's score against MSU marks the second of his career as he also found the back of the net against Northwestern earlier in the fall.
- The 4-3 outcome ties the team's season high for Rutgers with seven goals. The number was matches against Creighton (6-1).
- With 33 goals and 213 shots, RU tops the league in both categories.
- Through 14 games, the Scarlet Knights have seen 11 unique goal scorers on 33 goals for 98 points. Myers (12), Temple (5), Avila (4), Bouregy (3), Maeland (2) and Le Guennec (2) all have multiple goals.
- 18 Scarlet Knights saw the pitch on Friday night. Goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton in addition to Joey Zalinsky and Le Guennec played the entire 90 minutes.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will continue with league play as it returns home to face Michigan on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
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