PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 2-seeded Rutgers men's soccer team (8-4-5, 4-2-2) will host No. 7 seed Wisconsin (6-6-3, 3-4-1) on Friday, Nov. 4 at Yurcak Field for a 7 p.m. game.
RUTGERS NATION
Rutgers is excited to welcome students, faculty and staff in addition to members of the community to Yurcak Field on Friday night.
The Scarlet Knights will celebrate New Jersey Soccer Community Night, welcoming youth team from the surrounding area to help cheer the team on.
The team also welcomes the newly named student section, The Cavalry, to the contest. Rutgers will host a student tailgate pregame, starting at 5 p.m. by the student section entrance. There will be free food in addition to giveaways and various yard games.
The Historic Season Continues
The No. 2 seed in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament is the highest Rutgers has earned in the Big Ten era.
Friday night's contest marks the first home Big Ten game the team will host since 2015, when the team welcomed Northwestern. That same year, RU advanced to their most recent NCAA Tournament making it to the second round.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights dropped a 1-0 decision to UCLA on Saturday afternoon to cap the 2022 regular season. After a slow start to the contest, UCLA tallied a goal in the 25th minute to score the lone score of the contest.
The Doctor is In
Since transferring to Rutgers in the offseason from High Point, MD Myers has flourished as one of the nation's leading forwards.
Myers stands out when looking around the nation as he tied to rank second in the NCAA with 13 goals through 17 games this season. He also ranks first in shots on goal per game (2.06) and third in total points (30).
In the Big Ten, Myers paces the league in four of six offensive categories including: goals (13), points (30), shots (58) and shots on goal (35).
The senior forward is the only player in the league to reach 10+ goals, leading the runner up by two scores. He is also the only striker to hit the 30-point mark, leading the second-most points getter by 13.
Through 17 games this fall, Myers has found the back of the net in 10 contests, including six of the last eight. He has also recorded points in 11 outings.
Myers picked up Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors (Oct. 27) and cracked the top-25 in the TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Rankings at No. 24.
With the Big Ten Tournament ahead of him, Myers has already solidified himself in the record books. His 30 points ranks tied for 17th all-time while his 13 goals are tied for 13th in a single season. He is also the first Scarlet Knight to reach the 30-point milestone in a single season since Jordan Hall ended the 2018 season with 30 points.
Looking Around The League
In the final Big Ten standing, RU finished tied for second place with Ohio State as both teams accumulated 14 points and ended with a 4-2-2 conference record. Maryland finished in first place with 16 points and a 2-0-2 mark in the league.
B1G Time
As a team, Rutgers finished the regular season leading the Big Ten in several categories including: goals (37), shots (246), assists (40) and points (114).
The Scarlet Knights are the only team in the league to reach triple digits in points.
The team also paces the league in five of six offensive categories as Myers tops the stats in goals (13), points (30), shots (58) in addition to shots on goal (35) and Jason Bouregy tops the league with eight assists.
Spreading the Love
Through 17 games, the Scarlet Knights have seen 12 unique goal scorers for a conference-best 37 goals and 114 points.
MD Myers leads the pack with 13 scores after securing braces against Omaha (Aug. 25), Yale (Sept. 5) and Maryland (Oct. 4) in addition to one-goal outings against Rider (Sept. 9), UAlbany (Sept. 13), Ohio State (Sept. 30), Indiana (Oct. 9), Stony Brook (Oct. 12), Michigan State (Oct. 16) and Michigan (Oct. 21).
Temple (5), Pablo Avila (4), Bouregy (3), Ian Abbey (2), Ola Maeland (2), Hugo Le Guennec (2), Bryan Keating (1), Cole Cruthers (1), Joey Zalinsky (1), Tommy DeVizio (1) and Matthew Acosta (1) have all also added goals for the Scarlet Knights.
With 114 total points this slate, this slate marks the first the Scarlet Knights have hit triple digit points since 2015, when the team ended with 123 points.
Welcoming the Newcomers
Head coach Jim McElderry and his staff added 11 newcomers to the squad in the offseason, including three transfers and seven freshmen.
Transfers MD Myers (High Point), Saahb Kular (Cleveland State), Nick Spittle (Seneca [OCAA]), Zach Riviere (Georgetown) and freshmen William Baker, Sam Delgado, Ian Abbey, Nestor Cabrera, Cole Cruthers, Ciaran Dalton and Dylan Van Der Walt were all welcomed to the team.
The freshmen trio of Abbey, Cruthers and Dalton have made an impact on the team this season, all recording starts. Dalton tops the goalkeepers with two shutouts and six wins while Abbey has recorded back-to-back game winning goals. Cruthers added a goal against Northwestern (Sept. 27) and has started 14 of 16 games this fall.
Back Again
The Scarlet Knights return 20 student-athletes overall and 11 players with eight or more starts from the 2021 roster that went 9-6-2, the most wins in a campaign since 2015. Notably, All-Region and All-Big Ten selection Jackson Temple and All-Big Ten Freshman Team picks Matthew Acosta and Joey Zalinsky will be returning to the roster.
Graduate students Thomas DeVizio and Pablo Avila made the decision in the offseason to return to the pitch for their final year of eligibility. Last season, the two veterans combined for 13 points, including three goals and seven assists.
Last Time Against Wisconsin
Earlier this season on Sept. 23, Rutgers defeated Wisconsin on the road, 2-0, their first shutout of the season.
Jason Bouregy and Jackson Temple both tallied goals for the Scarlet Knights while freshman goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton totaled three saves in net.
Scouting the Badgers
Wisconsin ended its season on a high, with consecutive wins over Northwestern (1-0) and Ohio State (3-2) to secure the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The team's other conference victory came against Michigan (2-1) in the beginning of October.
Maxwell Keenan leads the Badgers with seven goals and two assists for 19 total points. Goalkeeper Carter Abbott has played every minute of the season in net for UW, collecting 48 saves on 150 shots faced.
Wisconsin owns the slight 6-5 edge in the all-time series between the two programs, after Rutgers defeated the opposition earlier this campaign. Rutgers will look to earn consecutive wins over the Badgers for the third time in program history, after doing it in 2014 and 2019-21.
Looking Ahead
The winner of the Rutgers vs. Wisconsin matchup will go onto face the winner of No. 3 Ohio State and No. 6 Michigan State on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The game will be streamed nationally on the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET.
Follow Along
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