Rutgers Men’s Soccer Hosts Princeton on Friday night
The Battle of Route 1 commences for the first time in 304 days when the Rutgers Scarlet Knights play host to the Princeton Tigers at Yurcak Field on Friday night at 7 p.m.
This will offer the first opportunity for Rutgers fanatics to see their men’s soccer team in action this year; the Scarlet Knights (1-1) opened the season with a pair of games on the road in Omaha, Nebraska. Friday’s Central Jersey Clash will be Princeton’s season opener.
The Scarlet Knights are a nice balance of familiar and new faces. Rutgers sees 20 student-athletes return from the 2021 roster that went 9-6-2, the most wins for the program since 2015. Notable returnees include: All-Region and All-Big Ten selection Jackson Temple, All-Big Ten Freshman Matthew Acosta and Joey Zalinsky.
In addition the Scarlet Knights will seee 11 newcomers with three transfers: MD Myers – High Point, Saahb Kular – Cleveland State; Nick Spittle – Seneca OCAA, and Zach Riviere – Georgetown. This year’s freshman class is comprised of seven players: William Baker, Sam Delgado, Ian Abbey, Nestor Cabrera, Cole Cruthers, Ciaran Dalton and Dylan Van Der Walt.
As for Princeton, “After winning the Ivy League championship and finishing with a 12-6 record last season, the Tigers fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to St. John’s (1-0). Ahead of the fall, Princeton was chosen to repeat as Ivy League champions in the Preseason Media Poll, receiving 12 of the 16 first place votes.
“The Tigers return United Soccer Coaches “Defender to Watch” Lucas Gen in addition to All-Region selection Daniel Diaz-Bonilla and All-Ivy honorees Malik Pinto, Issa Mudashiru and Walker Gillespie” (Rutgers Press Release).
