OMAHA, Neb. – The Rutgers men's soccer team opened the 2022 fall season with a statement win, defeating Omaha on the road, 4-2, on Thursday night. MD Myers started things off for the team with back-to-back goals while Pablo Avila and Ian Abbey also found the back of the net. Freshman Ciaran Dalton played all 90 minutes in goal for the Scarlet Knights, making two saves in the process.
"Great start tonight for us," head coach Jim McElderry said. "We conceded early and responded well to be up 3-1 at the half. Lots to still improve on, but very proud of this group."
Rutgers came out on the offensive, forcing the ball into Omaha's defensive zone early and often. MD Myers got two shots on net to start resulting in a corner kick opportunity for the Scarlet Knights, but it was the Mavericks that struck first, tallying the first goal of the game in the ninth minute of play.
RU responded quickly, however, evening things up with a goal from Myers in the 12th minute off a quick touch from Avila.
Just minutes later, Thomas DeVizio was fouled in the box which resulted in a penalty kick for Rutgers. Off the kick, Myers cashed in for his second score of the game to give the Scarlet Knights the 2-1 edge. Less than six minutes later, Avila found the back of the net for a score of his own. The goal gave the Scarlet Knights their third goal in 11 minutes to jump out to a 3-1 lead which they would carry into the halftime break.
Coming out of halftime, Rutgers continued to put pressure on the Omaha backline. In the 51st minute, Ola Maeland played a through ball in front of the Mavericks' goal and found freshman Ian Abbey for the score.
A few minutes later, Omaha scored its second goal of the contest to cut the Rutgers' lead in half, 4-2. Both teams continued to trade opportunities to finish out the match as RU emerged with the two-goal win to open the 2022 campaign.
"It's hard to win games on the road in Division I men's soccer, so we will enjoy it tonight and start preparing tomorrow for a top Creighton team on Sunday," McElderry added.
Game Notes
- The two-goal performance marks the seventh multi-goal game of Myer's career and his first in the Scarlet and White. He had six such performances during his sophomore season at High Point in 2020.
- Avilia has now recorded both a goal and an assist in three career outings. He also accomplished the feat twice during his sophomore season in 2019.
- Rutgers led Omaha in almost every statical category including shots (19-10), shots on goal (9-4) and corners (7-5).
- The last time the Scarlet Knights scored four goals was against Ohio State in the final game of the 2021 fall regular season. The team came out with a 4-0 shutout win.
- Head coach Jim McElderry has now started off all four seasons at Rutgers with a win, with Thursday's 4-2 decision serving as the largest margin of victory he has seen in a season opener.
- The freshmen trio of Abbey, Cole Cruthers and Dalton both found their way onto the stat sheet in their collegiate debuts. Abbey contributed a goal while Dalton recorded two saves in net.
- 19 players saw action in the season opener, with Dalton, DeVizio, Hugo Le Guennec and Joey Zalinsky playing all 90 in the victory.
The team will continue their road trip in Nebraska as they continue on to face Creighton on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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