Rutgers men's soccer earns 1st win of 2023 season against Saint Peter's
The Rutgers men's soccer team earned its first win of the season against Saint Peter's last night. The Scarlet Knights (1-2-1, 0-0-0) took down the Peacocks (0-1-2, 0-0-0) by a score of 2-0 to earn their first win and shutout of the season.
Rutgers started off the game with a majority of possession in Saint Peter's' half. Junior midfielder Curt Calov, junior forward Nico Rosamilia and senior midfielder Jason Bouregy had early chances in front of the opposing goal, forcing Pedro Alves into action to keep the game level.
The Knights had even more scoring opportunities toward the end of the first half. Graduate student midfielder Jackson Temple found space in the box and turned to shoot, but the Peacocks quickly blocked his attempt.
Despite Rutgers taking 10 shots, the game would remain tied heading into halftime. The Knights played strong defense and limited Saint Peter's to attempting only two shots on goal.
Rutgers remained in control of the game to start the second half. Freshman forward Luciano Sanchez was picked out in space and volleyed the ball in the 49th minute, but his attempt flew over the crossbar. Approximately 3 minutes later, Rosamilia found himself one-on-one with Alves but shot the ball wide of the Peacocks' goal.
The Knights finally found their breakthrough goal in the 58th minute. Temple played a low pass into the box to Sanchez, who placed the ball in the right corner to score his 1st collegiate goal.
Saint Peter's had its best chance of the game in the 65th minute. Mikkel Fodstad shot the ball toward junior goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe's near post, but Briscoe made a strong save to maintain the lead.
Rutgers scored its 2nd goal in the 83rd minute. Calov blasted a shot at Alves, who pushed the ball away, and sophomore forward Ian Abbey tapped in the rebound to extend the Knights' lead.
Rutgers remained strong on defense the entire game to ultimately claim the victory.
Sanchez spoke on the importance of his goal to earn the win.
"Getting the goal is really important for me and for the team," Sanchez said. "I feel great about it, so I couldn't be happier."
The Knights will look to earn their first win of the season when they travel to Los Angeles to take on UCLA on Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcasted on Pac-12 Plus.
"I thought our guys really (bore) down," said head coach Jim McElderry. "We made some changes in the lineup just to give some guys some opportunities that we thought they deserved, and I thought those guys took advantage."
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