Men's Soccer Travels to Lehigh Monday Night - Rutgers University Athletics (2024)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Rutgers men's soccer team (2-1)will travel for the first time this season, heading to Lehigh (1-1-1) on Monday, Sept. 2. The match will begin at 6 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex. You can also watch live on ESPN+.

Last Time Out

Highlighted by two, early first half tallies, the Scarlet Knights defeated in-state rival Princeton (0-1) by a score of 3-1 at Yurcak Field on Friday night.

Curt Calov,Ola MaelandandIan Abbeyall found the back of the net for the Scarlet Knights while goalkeeperCiaran Dalton recorded a season-high six saves.

Just 18 seconds into the match, Rutgers' leading scorer, Calov, netted his third goal of the season, this time on a great cross fromAbbey.

1' | 18 SECONDS IN ‼️

Curt Calov finds the back of the net off a great pass from Ian Abbey 🤩

Rutgers 1, Princeton 0

📺 @BigTenPlus
📊 https://t.co/YeTLjW76kN#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/4636z7vMkH

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 30, 2024

Just ten minutes later,Maelanddoubled RU's lead.Cole Cruthersplayed a long through ball to Calov who played the ball onto Maeland's sliding strike for his first goal of the young season.

An Ola Maeland back flip always gets us 🤩#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/C1bOGl0k9u

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 31, 2024

Princetongotone back in the 58th minute but solid defense at the back along with timely goalkeeping fromDaltonwould keep the lead at one.

Abbey would put the game away for good with a solid right-footed strike in the 78tth minute for the ultimate 3-1 victory.

78' | THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE 👏

Ian Abbey cashes in on the PK for his third point of the night!

Rutgers 3, Princeton 1

📺 @BigTenPlus
📊 https://t.co/YeTLjW76kN#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/SBFohshuhl

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 31, 2024

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week

RU captain Joey Zalinsky was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week coming off the first two games of the season. In 173 combined minutes, the senior recorded four points.

Cap is Cookin' 🍴⚽️

Joey Zalinsky recorded two assists and a goal to earn his first @B1GSoccer Defensive Player of the Week honor!

📰: https://t.co/vbon60s25Q#GoRU | #RUMS pic.twitter.com/HRh8BMnOHr

— Rutgers Men's Soccer (@RUMensSoccer) August 27, 2024

The weekly honor is the first of Zalinsky's career and the team's first since Ciaran Dalton was selected last season (10/10).

The Brick, New Jersey native recorded two assists in the season opening 3-1 win over Northeastern (8/22), the first helpers of his career. The effort also marks his first multi-point contest since 2022 when he scored against Creighton.

Zalinsky followed up with another strong performance against Delaware (8/26), netting the second goal of his career. He now has six career points and has tallied points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.

2024 Team Captains

At the start of preseason, head coach Jim McElderry named the captains for the 2024 fall season. Joey Zalinsky was selected for the honor for the second season in a row in addition to fellow senior Aidan Flynn and junior Cole Cruthers.

"Being a captain for the second season in a row means a lot," said Zalinsky. "It shows that I am more than just a leader. I am able to help this team win and help my teammates on and off the field."

Flynn, a four-year defender for the Scarlet Knights, has seen the team evolve and thrive during his tenure "On The Banks." Now he is excited to help lead and encourage that growth.

"It's a really great opportunity," Flynn said. "I am so fortunate to have been able to be here all four years and have gone through the progression. The culture has grown and every year we have become more of a family and a collective. It has been so nice to see, and I am excited to help lead that."

Although Cruthers is the youngest of the group, he is excited for what he can bring to the table. The 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year is poised for a great season on the pitch but is also ready to pass on what he has learned from his time at the collegiate level.

"It's a lot of responsibility but it's a position I have been in before," Cruthers said. "I am excited to be able to help some of the younger guys like the older guys have helped me. It's really an honor."

All three will don the captain arm band this season and are excited to bring RU to new heights.

The Returners

The Scarlet Knights return a solid 17 student-athletes to the 2024 roster. This includes three of the top five goal scorers in Ola Maeland, Curt Calov and Ian Abbey. The three combined for 10 goals.

The team also returns some core members of their defense including Joey Zalinsky, Big Ten All-Freshman honoree Nicholas Collins, Erick Ruiz and Devon Stopek.

In addition, goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton comes back for his junior season after posting four wins, 53 saves and one shutout in 14 matches in 2023.

Introducing the Freshmen

Going into his sixth season, McElderry and his staff welcomed 11 freshmen during the offseason, tied for the biggest recruiting class since 2019.

The class is comprised of four international student-athletes: Kristófer Arnarsson (Grafarvogur, Iceland), Anthony Morano (Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada), Scott Godden (Leeds, England) and Arnar Adalsteinsson (Kopavogur, Iceland).

The remaining seven rookies are from the east coast, including six from New Jersey: Graham Kois (Scotch Plains, N.J.), Matty Lynch (Chesterfield, N.J.), Eddie Krupski (Clark, N.J.), Illia Tyrkus (Bridgewater, N.J.), Dylan Carlson (Sayreville, N.J.), Lenny Aviles (East Windsor, N.J.) and Thomas Angelone (Boston, Mass.).

Adalsteinsson and Godden have all earned three starts while Carlson has one. Five others have also seen time on the pitch.

Nonconference Schedule

The Scarlet Knights will face seven nonconference opponents before diving into Big Ten play.

Having already faced Northeastern, Delaware and Princeton, the team has still to face Seton Hall at home in addition to Lehigh, Providence and Yale on the road.

While multiple teams made runs in their respective conference tournaments, Yale won the Ivy League and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

B1G Updates

With the official expansion of the Big Ten over the summer, Rutgers will face two new faces in UCLA and Washington.

RU will post the Bruins in Piscataway for the first time as a member of the league on Friday, Oct. 18 (7 p.m.). The teams renewed their historic rivalry with matches in 2022 and 2023. UCLA picked up victories in both meetings.

The Scarlet Knights will travel to face the Huskies on Friday Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. ET. It will be just the fifth meeting between the two programs and the first since 1998.

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