SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer (1-0-1) tied Seton Hall (1-0-1) on Sunday night in its road opener. Joschi Schelb netted the first goal of the game while freshman Jude Essuman netted the tying score.
Schelb opened scoring in the 18th minute off a pass from Francesco Di Ponzio. The Pirates answered however, to end the half knotted, 1-all.
Seton Hall was aggressive to starting the second half on the attack, but RU had the answers on defense, coming up with multiple solid stops.
In the 71st minute, SHU got through again to find the back of the net and take the 2-1 edge. Just 10 minutes later however, Essuman came up big for the Scarlet Knights with his first goal to tie the contest, 2-2.
Goals
'18 (RU)
Joschi Schelb –
Francesco Di Ponzio
'32 (SHU) Mikkel Lejbowicz – unassisted
'72 (SHU) Agustin Resch – Hugo Gerbore
'82 | (RU)
Jude Essuman
Game Notes
- Schelb's goal marks his first for RU and the 14th of his career.
- The game-tying goal from Essuman signifies his first at the collegiate level.
- Di Ponzio's assist marks the second of his career and his sixth point.
- All three of RU's goal to start the season have been from newcomers as Dan Karsten also netted the first goal of the season against Providence (Aug. 21).
- Ciaran Dalton made three saves in net and now sits 10th all-time with 175 career saves.
- Freshmen Jack Andrus and Braxton Montgomery earned their second start of the season on Sunday night. Other rookies Jude Essuman, Simon Gorczowski, Jaeden Gordon and Joshua Jerome also stepped on the pitch.
- Transfers Schelb, Andrew Kitch, Karsten started as well, while Cameron Boumsong also saw action.
- Nick Collins and Dalton were the only Scarlet Knights to play all 90 minutes against the Pirates.
- Sunday's match was the first time Rutgers has made the trek to Seton Hall since 2009 and the programs' first draw since 2003. RU still owns the all-time edge, 33-17-6.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will travel to Virginia to face JMU on Aug. 29 (7 p.m.) and William & Mary on Sept. 1 (6 p.m.).
Follow Along
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