Rutgers men's soccer advance to Big Ten semifinals

College, Featured, Rutgers University, Soccer

November 5, 2022

Rutgers men's soccer faced off against Wisconsin Friday in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals live from Yurcak Field, which did not disappoint. It went to a penalty kick shootout to decide the winner of this match and the Scarlet Knights were able to come out on top in front of their fans. Both teams were aggressive on the pitch the whole game, with them getting two yellow cards each. They also combined for 25 shots, seven shots on goal, nine saves, 21 fouls, and 13 corners.

The defense was fantastic for both teams as they attacked the offense, set up traps, limited the shots on goal and tried to get clean tackles. Rutgers won some balls on Wisconsin's corner kicks which was huge as the Badgers came close to scoring. They were organized on defense, playing back, making big clears and each goalie getting unbelievable saves. Rutgers goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton made four saves as he came up clutch for them throughout the match.

Rutgers and Wisconsin's offenses started to pick up in the second half as they got more shots, were more aggressive, attacked on the pitch, put pressure on the defense and made good passes. The Scarlets Knights' offense was able to make nice passes on the ball from the cross and beat the traps that Wisconsin had for them. Also, Rutgers kept the defense guessing with the footwork changing up and dribbling going toward the goal.

After regulation, the match went to overtime, where they continued to attack. The refs missed a few calls which could have been momentum changers for Rutgers as Wisconsin got away with a few. Everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next. No one scored in the first overtime, so it went to another ten-minute one. Rutgers came close to scoring, but Wisconsin's goalie Carter Abbott was able to make great key saves as well in the match.

Once the second overtime finished with no score, it went to a penalty kick shootout deciding the winner of this big ten tournament quarterfinal game. In the penalty shootout, they get five attempts and both teams made it exciting. Ciaran Dalton made a huge save against Wisconsin's Tim Bielic on the second attempt which was big for Rutgers. The final score of the shootout was 5-4 as each Rutgers player made a shot on the pitch.

Here are the results from Friday's Rutgers shootout victory over Wisconsin

1. Made 10 Pablo Avila

2. Made 2 Thomas DeVizio

3. Made 9 MD Myers

4. Made 16 Matthew Acosta

5. Made 12 Jackson Temple (game-winner)

Jackson Temple celebrating the game-winning penalty kick for Rutgers (Photo Credit: Mike Franco)

Jackson Temple was a hero last night for Rutgers as they advanced to the semifinals facing Ohio State on Wednesday night November 9th. After Temple made the game-winning penalty kick, the Scarlet Knights jumped on him on a dog pile, celebrated and sent the fans home happy on a Friday night.