Men's Soccer to Open Season at American and No. 5 Georgetown

Thursday, August 20

Washington, D.C.

1:00 PM

Rutgers

American

Men's Soccer to Open Season at American and No. 5 Georgetown

Aug 19 | Men's Soccer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rutgers men's soccer opens the 2026 fall season on the road this week, traveling to the Washington, D.C. area for a pair of contests against American on Thursday and No. 5 Georgetown on Sunday night.

Match Details
Rutgers (0-0-0, Big Ten) at American (0-0-0, Patriot League)
4 p.m. ET | Thursday, Aug. 20
Reeves Field | Washington, D.C.
Stream: ESPN+

Rutgers (0-0-0, Big Ten) at No. 5 Georgetown (0-0-0, BIG EAST)
7:30 p.m. ET | Sunday, Aug. 23
Shaw Field | Washington, D.C.
Stream: ESPN+

Big Ten Preseason Honors

Nick Collins, Rafael Ponce de Leon and Amer Lukovic were selected as Preseason Big Ten Players to Watch.

All eyes on us 🤩#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/maslsaFWaU
— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 18, 2026

Collins is coming off his best season with the Scarlet Knights, finishing with a career-best eight points while playing an essential role on the defensive end. He started all 17 matches in 2025 and logged the second-most minutes on the team with 1,499. Collins scored a career-best three goals, including the game-winner against Wisconsin on Oct. 10, while also adding two assists. He helped Rutgers record five shutouts, the program's most since 2021.

Ponce de Leon joins the Scarlet Knights after three seasons at Northwestern, where he established himself as a standout keeper in the Big Ten. He started all 16 matches during the 2025 season and recorded five shutouts for the second consecutive year. He wrapped up his Northwestern career with 12 clean sheets, which ranks fifth all-time in program history.

After a successful career at Montclair State, Lukovic found the back of the net once last season at James Madison (Aug. 29) before an injury cut his season short. He has already made an impact during the preseason and will look to continue that productivity this fall.

Coming In Hot

Since head coach Jim McElderry took over the Scarlet Knights ahead of the 2019 season, Rutgers has opened six of his seven seasons at the helm with a victory.

In his first season, McElderry led RU to a 1-0 win over Temple. The Scarlet Knights followed with 2-0 victories over Michigan State in the spring of 2021 and Delaware in the fall of 2021. In 2022, Rutgers opened the season with a 4-2 win over Omaha before earning a 3-1 victory over Northeastern in 2024.

Most recently, McElderry guided the team to a 1-0 season-opening victory over Providence in 2025.

The Returners

Rutgers returns 17 student-athletes who saw action during the 2025 season, including seven players who started at least 12 matches.

The Scarlet Knights bring back three key pieces of the backline in Collins, Braxton Montgomery and Devon Stopek, all of whom appeared in every match last season.

In addition, Rutgers returns eight of its 10 goal scorers from a year ago, accounting for 17 of the team's goals in 2025.

Welcoming the Newcomers

McElderry and his staff welcomed 11 new faces "On The Banks" during the offseason, including seven transfers and four first-year players.

The transfer class brings veteran talent from across the country, combining for 103 career games of collegiate experience.

Transfers: Rafael Ponce de Leon (Northwestern), Charlie Kitch (Elon), Pius Ssebulime (Gardner-Webb), Zach Mastrodimos (UCLA), William Pierce (Fairfield), Jan Ziewiec (Hofstra) and Abubaker Mayanja (UNC)

First Years: Brian Nascimento, Julian Chapman, Noah Hannawald and Hector Criado

Up Next

Rutgers will return to New Jersey for its 2026 home opener, hosting Sacred Heart on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at Yurcak Field.

Follow Along

Follow Rutgers men's soccer on Twitter and Instagram (@RUMensSoccer) for all the latest news and updates. The team is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RutgersMensSoccer.