Rutgers Men's Soccer Advance To First Ever Big Ten Championship Game

Rutgers University, College, Featured, Soccer

November 10, 2022

Rutgers men's soccer hosted No. 16 Ohio State Wednesday, at Yurack Field, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal match - one that became chippy at one point. Rutgers got the 2-1 victory with goals from Jackson Temple and Chris Tiao.

Head coach Jim Mcelderry, in his fourth year, has the Scarlet Knights clicking on all cylinders right now and staying focused. Both teams combined for 24 shots, 10 shots on goal, six saves, 20 fouls and seven corner kicks.

Two minutes and 19 seconds into the game, Ohio State was called for a foul, something they struggles with throughout the night. Later in the first half, Rutgers started to get called on fouls that were momentum changers, back and fourth between these teams.

Rutgers got some great looks with nice passes from the cross, eventually setting up the games two scores. Rutgers and Ohio State players got into a little arguing at one point and things became chippy.

Once thing settled down, both teams kept attacking, putting pressure on opposing defenses and tried to get clean tackles. However, some of them were not as clean as planned, and a couple players got injured.

Rutgers did a great job with the clears on defense as goalie Ciaran Dalton came up clutch again, making some huge saves. The Buckeyes had great opportunities against Dalton, but the diving saves were the difference in the game.

Jackson Temple was able to put Rutgers in front at the 24:51 mark, scoring his sixth goal of the season with a nice finish off his right foot on the assist by Chris Tiao and Ola Maeland. The defense was able to hold the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

The little arguing back and fourth did not have any impact on Rutgers as they kept their composure.

In the second half, Ohio State's offense improved and the Buckeyes began to play better, more aggressively, and create more opportunities. Xavier Green tied the score at 1-1 during the 51st minute, scoring his tenth goal of the season, on an assist from Luciano Pechota.

Rutgers took back the advantage at the 60:14 mark when Tiao scored his first goal of the season, the eventual game winner, to make it 2-1. The Rutgers defense was fantastic in the second half, making it tough for Ohio State to find for more shots. Dalton, Temple and Tiao all came up big in Wednesday's win as the Scarlet Knights advance to their first ever Big Ten Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday.