PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Four members of the Rutgers men's soccer team were honored as part of the 2023 Big Ten All-Conference Awards. The league made the announcement Friday afternoon, ahead of the start of the Big Ten Tournament.
Jackson Temple led the way for the Scarlet Knights with an All-Big Ten First Team selection. Matthew Acosta followed with an All-Big Ten Second Team pick as well as Nick Collins as he earned a spot on the conference All-Freshman Team. In addition, Cole Cruthers was chosen as the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree.
Jackson Temple
Temple's first team selection is just the fourth in program history and the third Big Ten postseason award of his career as he was also named to the Second Team in 2021 and the All-Freshman Team in 2019.
The fifth year forward paced Rutgers throughout the season in multiple statistical categories including points (16), goals (6) and assists (4). He scored in three consecutive outings against Columbia (Sept. 13), Michigan State (Sept. 17) and Michigan (Sept. 22) before finding the back of the net again versus Wisconsin (Oct. 13) and Northwestern (Oct. 21). He also registered two assists against Penn State (Oct. 17), the fourth multi-assist game of his career.
The Millville, Pennsylvania native ended the regular season ranking third in the conference in points while also sitting fourth in goals.
Matthew Acosta
Acosta has played a key role in center midfield throughout his career for RU, and things were no different this fall. The junior was the only student-athlete to start all 15 outings of the season. He has in fact started every match since he stepped on the pitch as a freshman, starting all 21 games in 2022 and all 17 contests in 2021. He also paced the team with 1,346 minutes on the pitch, a statistic he has led the Scarlet Knights in his last two seasons, with a combined 4,431 minutes played in Scarlet & White.
This fall, Acosta reached new heights, scoring a career-high three goals, finding the back of the net against Princeton (Sept. 1) and in back-to-back games against Penn State (Oct. 17) and Northeastern (Oct. 21). He also added three assists throughout the season to finish second on the team with nine points.
The second team pick is the ninth in program history and the second conference postseason award of Acosta's career as he was also named to the All-Freshman team in 2021.
Nick Collins
Collins burst onto the scene as a freshman this slate, filling in a huge gap for Rutgers on the back line. He started all 11 games he appeared in at center defense, playing alongside captain Joey Zalinsky.
The 6-foot-4 defender played all 90 minutes of seven contests this fall and played more than any other rookie with 879 minutes on the pitch. He recorded one shot on goal during the fall in addition to an assist against Michigan State (Sept. 17) for the first point of his career.
The Big Ten All-Freshman award is the first of Collins' career but the 12th in program history.
Cole Cruthers
This year's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree, Cole Cruthers, played a vital part in the Scarlet Knights' midfield. He appeared in all 15 games of the 2023 season and made 13 starts. He also ranked third on the team with 963 minutes on the pitch.
The Portland, Oregon product also scored his second career goal against Delaware (Aug. 24) in the team's season opener.
Up Next
No. 7-seeded Rutgers will face off against No. 2 Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. The match will take place in State College, Pennsylvania and be available to stream on B1G+.
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