PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (7-2-1, 2-1 B1G) will travel to face No. 11 Michigan (6-1-2, 2-1 B1G) for a Sunday matinee on Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.  

The contest will be available to stream on B1G+. 

Last Time Out   

The Scarlet Knights defeated Monmouth (5-4-1, 2-1-1 CAA), 2-0, on Tuesday night to wrap up nonconference play. RU enters October a perfect 5-0 at home, capping off a three-match home stand with seven collective goals. 

The contest started slow, but still yielded opportunities for RU as they out-shot Monmouth 11-1 in the opening half of play. Andrew Kitch led the way with three shots.   

The start of the second half was more back and forth until Dan Karsten broke through in the 77th minute for the first goal of the night. The ball started at the feet of Nestor Cabrera, who fed it into the middle to Kitch and eventually to Karsten who struck the ball into the bottom right corner.

Karsten then followed up with another score in the 86th minute in an almost identical fashion with assists from Cabrera and Kitch once again.   

Karsten's brace sealed the deal 📬#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/MVoXVOGkhE

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) October 1, 2025

2025 Team Captains 

Cole Cruthers will return as a captain for the fall 2025 campaign after donning the arm band last season as a junior.  

In addition, Cruthers will be supported by a leadership group including Devon Stopek, Erick Ruiz, Ciaran Dalton and Joschi Schelb.  

In the Books 

Goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton has been a mainstay for Rutgers since he joined the team as a freshman. With his senior season in front of him, Dalton has already cemented himself in the Rutgers men's soccer record book.  

The Pearl River, New York native currently ranks fifth all-time with 56 career games in net. He's also seventh all-time with 204 career saves. Dalton made his 200th career save earlier this campaign against Ohio State (Sept. 26).  

The Returners  

RU returns seven players who started 10 or more games last season, including six who registered points.  

Ciaran Dalton and Devon Stopek started every game of the 2024 slate while Nick Collins (16), Nestor Cabrera (15), Scott Godden (15), Arnar Adalsteinsson (13) and Cole Cruthers (11) also all started double-digit games for the Scarlet Knights.  

Transferring In 

Rutgers welcomed seven transfers to the team this offseason. 

Joschi Schelb (St. Francis University, Pa.), Camron Boumsong (St. John's University), Andrew Kitch (University of North Carolina) and Timo Jansen (University of Albany) all joined the team this spring while Logan Brown (Clemson), Dan Karsten (Lipscomb) and Amer Lukovic (Montclair State) came "On The Banks" during the summer.  

Schelb (7), Karsten (4), Kitch (2), Boumsong (2) and Lukovic (1) have all found the back of the net for the Scarlet Knights so far this campaign. In addition, Jansen has recorded two assists while playing a big role in the midfield.  

Introducing the Freshmen   

McElderry and his staff also brought in a big freshmen class of nine players. Jude Essuman, Cedric Lemaire and Jack Andrus joined the Scarlet Knights earlier in the spring of 2025 while Jeffrey Bryjack, Simon Gorczowski, Jaden Gordon, Joshua Jerome, Braxton Montgomery and Ailan Panton came ahead of preseason. 

Montgomery and Andrus have started 10 and nine games on the backline, respectively. Jude Essuman and Joshua Jerome have each found the back of the net as well.  

Scouting the Wolverines 

No. 11 Michigan has had a solid season so far, only dropping one contest to Michigan State (2-1) on Sept. 26. On Sept. 13, the Wolverines defeated then-No. 1 Indiana (3-2). 

Quin Rogers paces the team with four goals and eight points. RU is 3-8-3 in the all-time series against UM, but tied in their last meeting (1-1). 

Up Next   

Rutgers will come back to Yurcak Field to face Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. for Senior Night. 
 
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