Rutgers University
Princeton
Men's Soccer Travels to Princeton for Friday Night Match
Aug 31 | Men's Soccer
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (0-1-1) will make the short trip to face 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+.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights tied St. John's (1-0-1), 2-2, in their home opener on Monday night.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Luciano Sanchez was fouled in the box and the Scarlet Knights earned their first penalty kick of the season. Curt Calov cashed in to give his team the early lead. The goal marks his first since transferring to Rutgers from Syracuse in the offseason. The score is also the ninth of his career as he registered eight goals in his first two campaigns with the Orange.
He's just getting started 🔥#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/isjkEwnV7j
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 29, 2023
Then in the 30th minute, St. John's knotted the score, 1-1. Just after halftime, Temple capitalized on a stray pass from the Red Storm and outran the defender to put RU back on top. Temple's goal is also his first of the season and the 20th of his career. He now leads the squad with three points on the fall as he also recorded an assist at Delawar (Aug. 24).
HE'S BACK AND BETTER ‼️
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 29, 2023
Jackson Temple scores his first goal of the season to put Rutgers back on top, 2-1.
📺 https://t.co/EAEJuwwcgH
📊 https://t.co/51GKWtA4gy #GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/woiAQM9C68
However, with under seven minutes to go, the Johnnies even the score back up to end the game with a 2-2 tie.
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.
Scouting the Tigers
Princeton's home contest against Rutgers on Friday night will be its first outing of the season. Last fall, they were the Ivy League runner-up, after falling to Penn in the title match.
The Tigers own the 22-29-10 all-time edge over the Scarlet Knights. RU hasn't dropped a match against the opponent since 2016, as the team defeated Princeton in 2017 and 2021 before earning a draw last campaign.
In last season's draw, Jackson Temple netted his first goal of the campaign while goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton made four saves in net.
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 return home to host Saint Peter's (0-1-1) on Monday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. During the contest, the team will celebrate its student section, the Cavalry, with recognition throughout the night and $1 hotdogs.
Introducing The Cavalry, The Official Student Section of Rutgers Soccer ‼️
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 30, 2023
Est. 2022™️
First 100 students to sign up can secure a Cavalry t-shirt 👕⚽️
Sign up ➡️ https://t.co/7ZzVIhRF8G#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/nStlxl5IC4
