PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Chris Tiao scored the game-winning goal to lead the No. 2-seeded Rutgers men's soccer team (9-4-6) over No. 16/No. 3 seed Ohio State (10-3-5), 2-1, and to its first Big Ten Tournament Championship berth in program history.
Jackson Temple also added a goal while freshman goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton made five saves in net, just two off from his career-high, to keep RU on top.
Temple struck first in the 25th minute to get the Scarlet Knights on the board. Tiao and Ola Maeland strung together passes to find Temple for the header.
The Buckeyes answered to knot the score at the start of the second half in the 52nd minute but it was long before Tiao gave RU the edge with a goal off a pass from MD Myers in the 61st minute.
Goals
25' (RU) Jackson Temple (6) – Chris Tiao & Ola Maeland
52' (OSU) Xavier Green – Luciano Pechato
61' | (RU) Chris Tiao – MD Myers
Game Notes
- After hosting its first Big Ten Semifinal game in program history, Rutgers will make history once again with its first-ever trip to the Championship tilt.
- The 2-1 victory over No. 16 Ohio State is the first ranked win of the season for the Scarlet Knights.
- With the game-winning goal and an assist, Tiao's three points marks his career-high in a single game. The tally is the second of his career as he also found the back of the net at Michigan last season (Oct. 22).
- Temple's goal signifies his sixth of the season and first since Sept. 23 when Rutgers played at Wisconsin. The score is also the first in the Big Ten Tournament during his collegiate career.
- As he recorded the assist on the game-winning goal, Myers continues to lead the team with 31 points. He is the first player to reach 31 points since Jordan Hall accomplished the feat in 2015.
- With a 9-4-6 mark so far this slate, the Scarlet Knights have now recorded nine wins in back-to-back seasons after earning a 9-6-2 record last fall.
- Dalton leads the goalkeeper unit with 44 saves after five stops against the Buckeyes.
- With 121 total points through 18 games, this season marks the first time RU has reached 100+ points since 2015, when the team ended with 123. They lead the Big Ten in the statistic, racking up 19 more points than second-best Indiana (102).
- Through 18 games, the Scarlet Knights have seen 13 unique goal scorers on 39 goals for 121 points. Myers (13), Temple (6), Avila (4), Bouregy (3), Maeland (2), Le Guennec (2) and Abbey (2) all have multiple goals.
- 18 Scarlet Knights saw the pitch on Wednesday night. Goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton in addition to Joey Zalinsky, Matthew Acosta, Cole Cruthers, Chris Tiao, Thomas DeVizio played the entire 90 minutes.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will host the No. 4 seed Indiana in the Big Ten Championship on Sunday, Nov. 13 at noon at Yurcak Field. The contest will be be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Follow Along
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.
