Rutgers University
St. John's
Men's Soccer Set to Host St. John's in Home Opener
Aug 27 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team is set to host St. John's (1-0) in its home opener at Yurcak Field on Monday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on B1G+.
The Scarlet Knights will celebrate their Youth Soccer Kickoff with multiple promotions including free ice cream for the first 100 kids wearing their youth soccer team apparel, pictures with the Big Ten Tournament trophy and postgame autographs with the team.
Turning our attention to our home opener against St. John's ⚽️🍦📸🏆🖊️
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 25, 2023
Stop by for the Youth Soccer Kickoff and lots of fun at Yurcak Field on Monday! #GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/dV93SkFiBL
Last Time Out
Rutgers (0-1-0) fell to Delaware (1-0-0), 3-2, in its season opener on the road Thursday night.
After a back-and-forth start to the first half, the Blue Hens struck first with a goal in the 18th minute to take the early lead. However, the Scarlet Knights continued to generate chances and with seconds left in the first half, tied up the match, 1-1, with a header from Saahb Kular.
First start, first goal ⚽️
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 24, 2023
Saahb Kular ties the game, 1-1, just before halftime!
📺: FloSports
📰: https://t.co/m6RZNBW0LF #GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/8huJP8ebJm
RU kept the pressure on, with a 2-0 shot advantage 15 minutes into the second half. But UD stayed patient, cashing in on a free kick just outside the box in the 74th minute to retake the 2-1 edge. Delaware continued on, adding another score in the 77th minute to extend its lead, 3-1.
Cole Cruthers cut the Blue Hens' lead by a score, with a goal in the 87th minute of play, but it wasn't enough as the opposition came away with the 3-2 win.
Cole Cruthers finds the back of the net to put the match within one score, 3-2.
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 25, 2023
📺: FloSports
📰: https://t.co/m6RZNBW0LF#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/NLqXuIspSx
2022 Big Ten Tournament Champions
The fall off 2022 was historic for Rutgers, as the team earned its first Big Ten Tournament Championship in program history and first conference title since 1997. The Scarlet Knights became the first men's team at Rutgers and third team overall to win a Big Ten Championship since joining the conference. The victory punched RU's ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
The staff secured a 10-5-6 overall record, including a 4-2-2 mark in the Big Ten, to earn the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the highest in program history. The team hosted all three rounds of the conference tournament, bringing in record crowds including over 4,200+ fans for the title game.
Big Ten Preseason Honors
The Big Ten announced its 2023 men's soccer preseason honors Monday afternoon, naming Matthew Acosta, Jason Bouregy and Joey Zalinsky as Players to Watch. The 2022 Big Ten Tournament Champions were also picked to finish fourth in the conference standings.
.@B1GSoccer Players to 👀
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 21, 2023
📰: https://t.co/Q4O3vdymjP#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/gAJ1rZgTrI
This is the second consecutive season Acosta has been chosen as a Big Ten Player to Watch, following an outstanding sophomore season. He scored two goals in the final month of the season against both Penn State (Oct. 25) and Indiana (Nov. 13) in the Big Ten Tournament Championship. In addition, Acosta added three assists for seven total points.
An All-Big Ten and ECAC Second Team pick, Bouregy enjoyed a breakout year last fall. Playing in 20 games and making 16 starts, the senior netted three goals in 2022, including back-to-back Big Ten game-winners versus Northwestern (Sept. 17) and Wisconsin (Sept. 23). He also added eight assists, which tied to pace the team and ranked second in the Big Ten. The Paramus, New Jersey native ended the season with 14 points to rank third for RU.
Zalinsky was another Scarlet Knight who boasted an impressive sophomore year as one of the most important pieces of the Rutgers' defensive unit. The Brick, New Jersey product scored his first career goal against Creighton (Aug. 28) on his only shot on frame all season. Zalinsky also added an assist at Penn State (Oct. 25) to end the season with the first 3 points of his career.
The Returners
Rutgers returns 22 players from its 2022 Big Ten Tournament title team including key pieces like goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton, forward Ola Maeland and midfielder Cole Cruthers.
The Scarlet Knights will also bring back two graduate students, Jackson Temple and Chris Tiao. Both were huge parts of not only the previous fall season but also the conference tournament as both scored goals in the title run.
Head coach Jim McElderry also returns for his fifth season at the helm of the Scarlet Knights, along with his staff who was named the 2022 United Soccer Coaches North Region Staff of the Year.
Impact Transfers
This offseason, McElderry and the coaching staff welcomed a trio of transfers in Curt Calov (Syracuse), Sawyer Koza (Temple) and Andrew Noel (Pitt).
Calov, a midfielder from Morristown, New Jersey, played a big part in helping Syracuse to its first National Championship in program history in 2022. He scored four goals and provided a career-high seven assists for 14 points.
In the College Cup, as he scored in the 33rd minute in the National Championship match in addition to converting the second penalty in the 7-6 shootout win over Indiana. He also assisted the first goal in a 3-2 win against Creighton at the College Cup Semifinal and opened the Quarterfinals against Vermont with an incredible Olimpico goal from the corner flag in the 11th minute.
In addition, Calov recorded an assist in Syracuse's 2-0 victory against Clemson in the 2022 ACC Championship Final.
As a freshman with the Owls, Koza saw action in 13 games and made 10 starts. He recorded three goals, including a career-high two scores against St. Peter's on three shots on goal. He also scored against Stony Brook.
In addition, Koza added two assists during the fall with one against South Florida and his second versus No. 22 Tulsa. He totaled eight points to close out his freshman season at Temple.
Noel comes "On The Banks" after spending two seasons at Pitt. Although he did not see action on the field, he has seen quite a bit of success playing with the New York Red Bulls Academy. He started for the New York Red Bulls U17 team and was called up to the U17 US National Camp junior year. He won two penalty shootouts in the GA cup junior season and was later called up to the U18 National Team camp. Senior year, Noel was called up to the USL and started for the New York Red Bulls U19 team.
Featuring Freshmen
RU welcomed a group of five freshman this offseason "On The Banks" including Nick Collins, Francesco Di Ponzio, Luciano Sanchez, Erick Ruiz and Devon Stopek.
All of the newcomers call New Jersey home and will remain in the Garden State for their collegiate soccer careers.
All the rookies have made big impacts on their respective club teams and will continue to play a big part at Rutgers.
Looking Into the Red Storm
St. John's started off its season with a 2-1 win over Lehigh on Thursday evening. Fifth year forward Max McNulty scored both goals to lead the team to the road victory.
Last season, the Red Storm finished with a 4-8-5 record and did not qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament. Despite the outcome, SJU was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST East Division Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Nonconference Schedule
Before jumping into Big Ten play, Rutgers will face multiple close by challenging opponents. Following their home opener against St. Johns, the team will travel to play Ivy League runner-up Princeton and Pac-12 Champion UCLA. Later in the season, the team will also hit the road to Boston to face Northeastern.
At Yurcak Field, the Scarlet Knights will host both local foes Saint Peter's and Columbia.
Next Up
Rutgers will once again hit the road, this time taking a short trip to face Ivy League standout Princeton (0-0) on Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. The contest will take place at Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium and be streamed on ESPN+.
