PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (3-1-1, 0-0 B1G) will host Penn State (2-2-1, 0-0 B1G) at Yurcak Field for its Big Ten opener on Friday night at 7 p.m.
The contest, which will be a Scarlet out, will be available to stream on B1G+.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights fell to Princeton (1-0) on Friday night in their fourth consecutive road match. Camron Boumsong netted the first goal of his career in the contest.
Rutgers and Princeton battled through the beginning of the first half, with both teams fending off multiple opportunities from the opposing side.
The Tigers broke away in the final 10 minutes of the first 45 to take the 2-0 lead into the break. RU still had the advantage in shots at the half, 8-7, and goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton made a pair of saves.
Boumsong got one back for RU, with service from Nick Collins, in the 59th minute to make it a one-goal game.
However, Princeton solidified the win with another goal in the 78th minute.
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 52 career games in net. He also moved up to eighth all-time with 187 career saves.
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 (5), Karsten (2), Kitch (1), Lukovic (1) and Boumsong (1) have all found the back of the net for the Scarlet Knights so far this campaign. In addition, Jansen has recorded an assist 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 started all five games on the back line this slate while Essuman netted a goal for RU.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
Penn State won its season opener against Stetson (2-0) before dropping three contests in a row. The Nittany Lions did come out on top in their most recent outing against Mercyhurst, 5-0, on Sept. 5.
Rutgers is 10-19 all-time against PSU.
Up Next
Rutgers will travel to Northwestern on Friday, Sept. 19 for its Big Ten road opener at 7:30 p.m.
Follow Along
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