ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (2-3-2, 0-0-1 B1G) will open its Big Ten road slate against Michigan (1-3-3, 0-0-1 B1G) on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
The contest will be streamed on B1G+.
Last Time Out
Rutgers tied Michigan State (4-0-1, 0-0-1), 1-1, in the team's Big Ten opener. Jackson Temple scored in the 90th minute to knot the contest and earn the Scarlet Knights their first point in Big Ten play. Ciaran Dalton made his sixth start of the fall in net, registering three saves.
The first half started off quietly as both teams built off chances and found opportunities on offense. Toward the middle of the first 45 minutes, Rutgers took control and kept the ball in Michigan State's defensive zone.
Although RU couldn't find the back of the net, the team ended the half with the edge in both shots (9-4) and shots on goal (4-1).
It was the Spartans who broke through first in the second half though, with a goal in the 67th minute off a set piece from right outside the box.
As time continued to wind down, the Scarlet Knights stayed aggressive but couldn't convert on any opportunities.
However, with just one second left in the contest, Temple scored off a rebound from a header from Nicholas Collins to even the score up, 1-1.
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.
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.
Top of the Stats
Jackson Temple picked up where he left off last season, leading RU in multiple statistical categories. The graduate student paces the Scarlet Knights in both points (8), goals (3) and assists (2) early in the season.
The graduate student has scored in the team's past two games against both Columbia (Sept. 13) and Michigan State (Sept. 17). Temple's three goals ranks third in the Big Ten while his eight points rank second.
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.
In just six games "On The Banks" Calov has made his impact known, recording a goal and an assist to tie for third on the team with three points.
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.
Koza has also gotten comfortable in the Scarlet & White, playing in six games and making one start. He has also registered two shots so far in the fall.
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. Each of the rookies has made a big impact on their respective club teams and will continue to play a big part at Rutgers.
The five newcomers have all made their mark on the program early in the season, each seeing minutes on the pitch.
Collins and Ruiz have started four games on the backline this season while Stopek and Sanchez have started two games apiece.
Sanchez has been solid at striker as he paces the team with 17 shots and 10 attempts on frame. He ranks second on the squad with five points, recording an assist in the season opener at Delaware (Aug. 24) and notching two goals against Saint Peter's (Sept. 4) and Columbia (Sept. 13).
All five freshman have combined for 1,198 minutes on the pitch and 12 starts.
Looking Into Michigan
Michigan has yet to win a game since August 27, when the team defeated California Baptist (2-0). Since then, the team has earned two ties and three losses. The Wolverines tied Maryland (2-2) in their conference opener before falling to Oakland (2-1) in their most recent outing.
UM owns the 7-3-2 edge over RU in the all-time series. However, last season, the Scarlet Knights earned their first win in the past eight meetings, 2-1.
Next Up
Rutgers will come back "On The Banks" to welcome Ohio State on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. RU will host Friday Night Lights: Rutgers Soccer. The squad will celebrate New Jersey Youth Soccer Night as well, welcoming back kids from around the state.
Follow Along
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