PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (3-0-1) will complete its four-match road trip at Princeton (0-0) on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
The contest will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Joschi Schelb's first half hat trick led the Scarlet Knights over William & Mary (0-2-1), 4-1, on Monday, Sept. 1.
Schelb netted three goals in under 22 minutes to give RU an early, decisive lead. William & Mary added their lone score of the night just before halftime to make it a 3-1 contest at the break.
Dan Karsten scored his second goal of the campaign in the 64th minute to solidify the victory.
Dalton was solid in goal, collecting six saves to bring him to 12 stops on the season so far.
Joschi Schelb Tabbed Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Schelb was named Co-Offensive Big Ten Player of the Week after a stellar two-match performance. The weekly honor is the first for Schelb in the Big Ten and the first for RU since Joey Zalinsky was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27, 2024.
He netted four goals this past week, helping RU go 2-0 with wins over JMU (4-1) and William & Mary (4-1).
The Freiburg, Germany native netted one score against the Dukes and three goals in the first 22 minutes at W&M. The hat trick, completed in less than 10 minutes, is the first by a Scarlet Knight since Jason Wright scored three goals against FGCU on Sept. 27, 2016 and the first in a win since 2015. It is also the first hat trick by any Big Ten player since 2023.
Schelb has now scored five goals this season and 18 during his career. He has netted the first goal of play in the team's three most recent outings.
The 6-foot-0 midfielder paces RU and the conference with 11 points, 5 goals, 14 shots and nine on frame. He is tied for best on the squad with one assist and one game-winner.
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 51 career games in net. He also moved up to 9th all-time with 183 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) and Lukovic (1) have all found the back of the net for the Scarlet Knights so far this campaign. In addition, Jansen and Boumsong have recorded one assist each.
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 four games on the back line this slate while Essuman netted a goal for RU.
Scouting the Tigers
Friday night will be Princeton's season opener.
RU is 23-30-10 all-time against the Tigers but won the last meeting, 3-1, at Yurcak Field in 2024.
Up Next
Rutgers will return to Yurcak Field for its Big Ten opener against Penn State on Friday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
Follow Along
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