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Photo Credit: Sarah Middlestradt

Rutgers Men’s Soccer Forces Tie Against Michigan State With Last Second Score

September 18, 2023

What a day “on the banks” as Rutgers Men’s Soccer scored with one second left to force the 1-1 tie against Michigan State (4-0-1). It was a tight match throughout with no scores until the second half. With a crowd of 633, the Scarlet Knights got all of them off of their feet with a fantastic finish to a gritty battle.

Michigan State got on the board first after a penalty kick got a bad bounce off of Ciaran Dalton’s hands. A Spartan was in the right place at the wrong time and able to corral the deflection with his head and put it in the back of the net. A tough break for the Scarlet Knights as they made the initial stop, but couldn’t clear it out.

What a header from Will Eby off the Sharp set piece to put MSU on top!#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/JPqAUW4wwF

— MSU Men's Soccer (@MSU_MSoccer) September 17, 2023

Down 1-0 on senior day, graduate student Jackson Temple put his team on his back with one second left to make the game even at 1-1. A fantastic one-touch finish to the bottom left side of the net by the Scarlet Knights.

90' | JACKSON TEMPLE EVENS IT UP IN THE 90TH MINUTE ‼️

You can't write it up better than that. In the final seconds of play, Jackson Temple scores to tie the contest up on Senior Day 👏#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/p5APWlFsde

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) September 17, 2023

Breaking it down

Despite the last second tie, the Scarlet Knights were still struggling to put the ball in the back of the net. Rutgers had plenty of opportunities to even the match much earlier and even put themselves up, but poor execution prevented this. The Scarlet Knights allowed the Spartan goalkeeper to record five saves during the match, a number that should be much lower.

On the bright side, Rutgers was creating opportunities for themselves. With four corners, 14 shots and six shots on goal, the Scarlet Knights were not short-handed in opportunities. On top of this, Ciaran Dalton looked sharp in net, making three saves in the match. Sunday’s match against the Spartan’s was Dalton’s fourth 3+ save match this season.

If Rutgers wants to win in the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights need to capitalize when attempting to put the ball in the back of the net. If Rutgers wants any shot at defending their Big Ten title, they need to be putting up more goals and allowing less saves by the opposing team.

The road only gets harder for the Scarlet Knights as they face Michigan in Ann Arbor this Friday. Currently, Rutgers sits at 2-3-2 on the season, just below .500.

Team Statistics

	RUT	Spartans
Goals	1	1
Shots	14	10
Shots on Goal	6	4
Saves	3	5
Corners	4	2
Offsides	2	0
Fouls	12	9

Celebrating the Seniors

On Sunday afternoon, the Scarlet Knights honored eight seniors and two graduate students for their time “on the banks”.

What a day.
What a game.
What a team.
🤩⚽️

📰: https://t.co/VkOLoo4gig #GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/VA6liru9oh

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) September 17, 2023