Rutgers men’s soccer (0-1-1) tied St. John’s (1-0-1) by the final score of 2-2 in its home opener on Monday night. Over 1,300 fans came out but the Scarlet Knights fell just short of pulling out a victory over the Johnnies.
Luciano Sanchez drew a foul in the box at the 10 minute mark and a penalty was called. Syracuse transfer Curt Calov got the call and delivered in converting the penalty kick to give RU a 1-0 lead.
St. John’s tied it 1-1 in the 30th minute as Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau scored and was assisted by Max McNulty and Antonio Biggs.
After halftime, Jackson Temple put Rutgers back in the lead with an unassisted goal in the 50th minute. It was the 20th goal of his career and leads the team with 3 points through two games this season.
Unfortunately, Rutgers surrendered a late goal at the 83rd minute mark. Nicolas Fleuriau scored his second goal of the night and was assisted by Connor Mucchetti and Biggs.
Rutgers held a 6-4 advantage in shots but were even with shots on goal at three apiece. RU held a 3-2 edge in corners. Goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton made one save.
The Scarlet Knights are 6-12-8 all-time against St. John’s. The Johnnies are led by the legendary coach Dr. Dave Masur, who was a two-time All-American at Rutgers in the 80’s and started as an assistant under former coach Bob Reasso.
RU will next travel to face in-state rival Princeton (0-0) on Friday, September 1 at 7 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+ from Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. Rutgers is still looking for its first win of the season and it would give them real momentum to break through against the Tigers in a series that dates back to the 1940’s.
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Henry Rutgers
August 29, 2023 at 9:17 am
The Rutgers team that played last night was not the team that lost to Delaware.
Last night was a heavyweight battle with an incredible display of skill, athleticism and talent. They say a tie is like kissing your sister. As much as a win would have been preferred the game was one of the best I’ve seen at Yurcak Field. The speed and accuracy of the passing, the positioning of the players, the movement without the ball all left me in awe. There was so much talent on the field it would be almost impossible to pick one or two standout players. Newcomer, Kuhar #5 though is a great example of the coach’s eye for talent. He made a pro level move when he took the ball off the St. John’s wing down the sideline and turned the ball up field while pinned against the sideline. All at full speed. The skill to maneuver like that is rare.
The second goal by St. John’s is another example. On the one hand you’d like to break down the film (we were at the game so I didn’t record it) and figure out how such a highly skilled opponent found enough open space to advance, make a touch that had the RU goalie going the opposite way and blast the ball into the corner from 30 yards out. Or you can look at it and say that was incredible skill off a counterattack to which you will always be vulnerable when you play a swarming type of offense to bring numbers against the opponent’s goal. It was a great game. Two heavy weights that played to a tie.
I’m hoping it’s last night’s team that shows up for Princeton and not the team that lost to Delaware. It should be another exciting game. No kisses for Princeton. Skin that tiger.
Aaron Breitman
August 29, 2023 at 9:16 pm
Thanks for your great insight. Rutgers is certainly talented but I think it may take a bit for them to gel. Obviously losing Myers is a big hole to fill, but the leadership of DeVizio and Avila is missed as well.
Also I didn’t respond quickly enough but your analysis on what women’s soccer needs to do better is a very good take. I think discovering how to best use Gia Vicari is key to the offense clicking, as is Sam Kroeger getting back into the swing of things. We saw her impact pretty quickly last night.
Thanks again for your thoughtful responses.
Henry Rutgers
August 29, 2023 at 10:49 pm
Two tiger skins this week, Aaron. It’s 14 miles from RU to Princeton. Somehow, I think I’d run into a number of problems if I brought my skinning knife to the game, so I’ll just bring some rowdy friends and make some RU noise to support both teams at PU.
I have tremendous respect for your work product and research. However, with respect to Myers it seemed to me that once we got into BigTen play he had very little production. I’d have to check but that’s my off the cuff recollection. What I saw was deeper, more balanced talent on the line than we had previously even with Myers.
It was good to see Kroeger on the field last night. I was concerned when I saw her being driven to the locker facilities in a golf cart after the game but a short time later, I saw her, and her posse finding seats to watch and support the men’s team. She was walking fine. I respectfully disagree that Gia is the key. She looks like a capable player. It’s Lowrey that will stand up and lead this team or not. Every great team has someone other than the coach that they look to. In business it’s called the unofficial leader, someone everyone looks to when the anointed leader gives direction. Lowry has to be the on field coach and pull the midfield and forwards together into a cohesive unit. She has all the skills and ability; I just can’t tell if she’s healthy enough and has the mental determination to go the 110% that it will take. They will follow her.
Keep up the great work. From what I am hearing and seeing your readership is growing every day. You’re putting out a quality product and hopefully finding that life balance that allows you time with that precious little girl whose room you did your early podcasts from.
Henry Rutgers
August 31, 2023 at 10:18 pm
Gia Viccaro is definitely not the key. If anything, she is a key that should be on the bench in favor of Girman and Baren. Princeton should be mad as hell. They outplayed RU and tied at Princeton.
pj43
September 1, 2023 at 2:02 pm
I second Aaron’s appreciation of the insight Henry Rutgers brings to the soccer discussion. Hopefully, the readership and participation will grow in recognition of the great work Aaron is doing on “The Scarlet Faithful”.