Skip to content
Sports

Wing hopes to pick up play after slow start

 – Photo by null

Junior forward Kene Eze wants to score 10 goals this season, a year after tying for the Rutgers men’s soccer team lead with six.

Head coach Dan Donigan wants Eze to earn time as a 90-minute player, rather than coming off the bench as he did for 11 of 20 games last season.

Donigan gave Eze a wake-up call Sunday against Creighton that he was not on track to do either.

Eze could not play all 90 minutes against the second-ranked team in the country, coming off the bench and playing 52 minutes.

“It was difficult actually coming off the bench and going back in and coming out,” Eze said. “So I’m definitely going to work on getting myself more fit, doing stuff on my own to be the 90-minute player that I should be.”

Eze has not been the scoring presence he was last year, as with his other returning teammates.

The Scarlet Knights scored only one goal — a score in the sixth minute of the season opener against Fordham from freshman defender Mitchell Taintor — in three games this season.

Rutgers has not scored a goal in two games, and Donigan puts much of that on the slow starts from Eze and sophomore forward J.P. Correa, who combined for 12 of the Knights’ 32 goals last year.

“Those guys have to show up and have to make an impact every game,” Donigan said. “Obviously we’ve gone three games now without much productivity from those two.”

Correa and Eze are also recovering from offseason surgeries. Correa had hip surgery in February, and Eze had shoulder surgery during the summer, which is part of the reason for their stalled offensive production.

Correa has not played a full 90 minutes in a game this season, recently seeing a season-high 71 minutes against Creighton.

“They’re both fighting physical recoveries from their surgeries, but I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Donigan said. “I’ve worked with a lot of players. And those two both have a commitment and a desire to be the best.”

Eze also wants to get better at wing, which he moved to from forward last season in his first year with the Knights after transferring from William Paterson.

Despite finishing tied for first on team in goals last year, the Sayreville, N.J., native only scored in four games, including a career-best three-goal game last year against Adelphi in a 3-3 tie.

Eze wants to be more consistent at his position in more than only scoring.

“I have to run the plays a little bit more, work on my defensive shape,” he said.

Eze has shot the ball three times this year — twice on goal — with no luck. He had the most accurate foot on Rutgers last year, making a team-leading 19.4 percent of his shots.

The wing was not as in tune with his role last year, transitioning positions and starting inconsistently.

Eze intended on starting in solid form this season, but that changed against Creighton. He could start Saturday against Princeton, but Donigan will continue to be tough on Eze and Correa while they recover from surgery and work toward last year’s form.

“I’ve been very critical. I’ve been all over him in front of the team,” Donigan said. “Him individually, I’ve made it a personal challenge for him and J.P. the same thing.”


Related Articles


Join our newsletterSubscribe