The Scarlet Knights picked up their first victory of the year after taking down St. Peter’s 2-0. The Rutgers Men's Soccer team has had a slow start to the season, going 0-2-1 over their first three games, but their winless stretch came to a close Monday night.
The match was off to the races from the very start as Rutgers took 10 shots in the first half. However, the Scarlet Knights weren’t able to put any in the back of the net until the second half.
The Scarlet Knights broke the 0-0 tie at 57:25 on the clock in the second half. It all started with a nice pass from Matthew Acosta to Jackson Temple. Temple then sent a beauty of a pass into the box to Luciano Sanchez who made a great one touch finish to put the Scarlet Knights up one. Sanchez’s finish was his first of his collegiate career.
GOOOAAAALLLL👏
Luciano Sanchez finds the back of the net for his first collegiate goal and gives RU the 1-0 lead!
📺 https://t.co/pJAwmG5siy
📊 https://t.co/mWNwfseY7f#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/8ZrXmEkxwM— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) September 5, 2023
Towards the end of regulation at 82:26 the Scarlet Knights got on the board once again. An initial inside pass from Nico Rosamilia to Curt Calov set up a shot right at St. Peter’s goalie by Calov. Luckily St. Peter’s goaltender wasn’t able to corral the ball and on the rebound Ian Abbey fired to the bottom left to put the Scarlet Knights up once again.
ANOTHA ONE ‼️
Ian Abbey keeps the Scarlet Knights on top, 2-0
📺 https://t.co/pJAwmG5siy
📊 https://t.co/mWNwfseY7f #GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/TvSjYjDIhS— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) September 5, 2023
A nice break for the Scarlet Knights that put the dagger in St. Peter’s.
Breaking it down
The Scarlet Knights had the advantage the entire game. With 21 shots total (10 in first, 11 in second) and 11 shots on goal it was never a lack of opportunities for the Scarlet Knights. However, it was a lack of execution and placement by the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers allowed the St. Peter’s goaltender to rack up nine saves (4 in first, 5 in second) in the match, a ridiculous amount for any goalie during a single match.
Rutgers also had some careless mistakes, including being offside five times during the match. The Scarlet Knights on top of the offsides gave up 13 fouls. A number that will definitely hurt them against stronger competition. The Scarlet Knights are fortunate their defense held their ground, only allowing four shots and two on goal. For those two shots on goal, Rutgers’ goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe made the stop. Briscoe made his first start and appearance of the 2023 season over Rutgers young stud Ciaran Dalton.
It will be interesting to see why the change in goal was made and if the Scarlet Knights will alternate goaltenders in the future. As for the rest of the team, Rutgers needs to clean up sloppy fouls and errors, as well as be more accurate on the offensive side. In soccer, opportunities might not come in a game so when given the Scarlet Knights must finish.
It will be interesting to see if Rutgers can build off this victory as they have finally gotten over the first win hump. The Scarlet Knights take a trip out to LA this weekend as they take on UCLA.
Team Statistics
| RUT | St. Peter’s | |
| Goals | 2 | 0 |
| Shots | 21 | 4 |
| Shots on Goal | 11 | 2 |
| Saves | 2 | 9 |
| Corners | 6 | 4 |
| Offsides | 5 | 0 |
| Fouls | 13 | 9 |
Rutgers Men’s Soccer Next Game
- Time and Date: September 9 at 7:00 PM EST
- Vs: UCLA
- Location: Los Angeles, California - UCLA
- Watch: Pac-12+
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