 "Photo: John Pena / Staff Photographer")
There is an old adage that has been floating around college coach's circles, probably since Yale and Harvard went at it for the first college sports event in 1852: you need seniors to win. Looks like coach Bob Reasso will be putting that to the test in 2008.
"You don't usually - and all coaches will tell you - win a lot with young talent because they'll make mistakes along the way," Reasso said.
Three games into the season, the mistakes have been kept to a minimum. Two straight wins to open the season, before falling Wednesday night to Towson, and play on the pitch that has outclassed their opponents shows that these Scarlet Knights are ready to buck the trend.
Starting nine underclassmen, including five freshmen, on a consistent basis Rutgers has shown that sometimes things do not always work out as they are expected to.
"College soccer is a lot different than what you come in it as," Senior co-captain Amir Haghshenas says of the difficulty in transitioning to college soccer. "Club soccer, high school soccer is a totally different world compared to college soccer."
Tell that to Ibrahim Kamara, Yannick Salmon, Sam Archer and Robert McLarney. The four freshman have started all three games and made instant impacts.
Kamara and Archer have each scored a goal and provided the Rutgers attack a certifiable finisher and crafty playmaker in the final third.
McLarney and Salmon have been stabilizing forces in the middle third of the field. McLarney has often started RU attacks in his offensive midfield role while Salmon has been a successful ball-winner out of the defensive center-midfield spot.
But the four are not the only players to make a name for themselves in their first years. Gaetano Panuccio and Guilherme Dantas are two forwards who have adjusted well to the college level. On the backline Bryant Knibbs and Jimmy Simon have been reliable back-four players with Simon even scoring a goal.
The infusion of young talent has added a stimulating new aspect to the season for Reasso.
As a coach, I find it exciting and challenging because you have a fresh slate in which you can create whatever you want to do with a team," the coach said of his youthful squad.
Despite their success, the story of the early season has been two sophomores - one in his first year to the program.
Dilly Duka has been the Knights' best player, leading the team with four points and two goals. Out of his spot on the left side of the midfield and Montville native has added creativity and a spark that was often missing from last year's stale attack that managed only 19 goals in 19 games.
With all the acclaim going to the offense, Josh Carroll has quietly come in and become a stable force from his centerback position. Well almost quietly. The redshirt sophomore scored the game-winning goal in the season opening win over Delaware.
His play and leadership, as a co-captain, have surprised many followers of the program but not the coach.
He's just a special character," Reasso said of Carroll. "He's very very mature. He's bright, he's articulate, he's passionate. He's the kind of kid we're very, very fortunate he decided to come."
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