PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (4-1-1, 1-0 B1G) will travel to Northwestern (4-2-1, 0-1-0 B1G) on Friday, Sept. 19 (7:30 p.m. ET) for its Big Ten road opener.
The contest will be available to stream on B1G+.
Last Time Out
Joschi Schelb's late free-kick conversion led the Scarlet Knights to a B1G opening victory over Penn State (2-3-1, 0-1 B1G) on Friday night at Yurcak field.
With both squads trading scoring opportunities for the first 75 minutes of play, RU was awarded a free kick just outside the box in the 78th minute of play. Schelb placed a well-struck drive off the top of the crossbar and in, just past the outstretched arm of the Nittany Lion keeper.
Dalton Named B1G Goalkeeper of the Week
Ciaran Dalton has been named Big Ten Goalkeeper Player of the Week after recording a shutout win against Penn State in the conference opener.
The weekly honor is the second of Dalton's career and the second this season for RU this season.
Dalton earned his second shutout victory of the 2025 fall against the Nittany Lions and the eighth of his career. He recorded two saves on Friday night to bring his season total to 18 stops, which ranks second in the Big Ten.
He boasts a save percentage of 72 percent, the second highest among Big Ten goalies who have played six or more games.
Dalton has cemented himself in the Rutgers record book already, as he sits eighth on the all-time career saves list with 189 stops, just 10 denials away from seventh place. In addition, the Pearl River, New York native currently ranks fifth all-time with 53 career games in net.
Dalton is the only Scarlet Knight this season to play all 90 minutes in all six contests.
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 53 career games in net. He also moved up to eighth all-time with 189 career saves, just 10 stops away from seventh place.
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 (6), 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 six games on the back line this slate while Essuman netted a goal for RU.
Scouting the Wildcats
Northwestern has won two of its last four contests, including its most recent outing against UC Riverside (3-2). Joe Suchecki paces the team with four goals and two assists for 10 points.
The Scarlet Knights are 6-7 against the Wildcats and have fallen in the last two meetings.
Up Next
Rutgers will return home to host FDU on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
Follow Along
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