Rutgers men's soccer falls to Delaware in second-half defensive collapse
The Rutgers men’s soccer team hosted Delaware on Monday night, looking to make it two straight wins to begin the season for the first time since 2019. The Scarlet Knights (1-1, 0-0) led 1-0 at halftime but conceded 4 goals in the second half to lose 4-1 to the Blue Hens (2-0, 0-0).
Delaware had the first big chance of the game, as Carlos Fernandez made a run in behind the Rutgers defense and forced junior goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton into a strong save.
With about 18 minutes played, senior midfielder Curt Calov showed his danger and created the home team’s first chance of the night, playing a dangerous ball towards the face of goal, but no Knight could direct the ball into the back of the net.
Rutgers started to ease into the game and look dangerous. Junior midfielder Nestor Cabrera did well in beating his man and playing a direct pass to freshman midfielder and forward Illia Tyrkus, who shot the ball right into the hands of Blue Hen goalkeeper Adam Vik.
Tyrkus then had another golden chance to score his 1st career goal, but his shot rattled off the right post. The ball fell to the feet of senior defender Joey Zalinsky, who blasted it into the back of the net to open the scoring for his 2nd career goal. Switching from center-back to right-back, Zalinsky has been one of the best players to start the season, having two assists in the season-opener against Northeastern.
At halftime, the Knights led 1-0 and outshot Delaware 6-4, putting three of their shots on goal. The backline consisting of Zalinsky, sophomore defenders Devon Stopek and Nick Collins and freshman defender Arnar Adalsteinsson did well in limiting the Blue Hens’ offense.
About 5 minutes into the second half, a lightning strike delayed the game for 30 minutes.
Delaware came out of the delay the stronger team, leveling the game after only 4 minutes of play. Sophomore midfielder Francesco Di Ponzio had the ball taken away from him by Mikey Johnson, who shot the ball past the outreaching hands of Dalton to level the game. Not even 2 minutes later, Johnson struck the ball far out to score the go-ahead goal for the Blue Hens.
The collapse would get worse for Rutgers. Adalsteinsson then made a mistake, giving the ball away to Johnson, who had a clear sight on goal. Dalton came off his line to get the ball but Johnson dribbled past him and placed the ball into the open goal to complete the second-half hat trick.
Approximately 8 minutes later, Delaware extended its lead to 3 goals as Justin Ruth got on the score sheet off a corner kick, which was assisted by Jan Schroeder.
The Knights looked disorganized and struggled to handle Delaware’s offensive momentum, falling apart defensively.
Rutgers had some scoring chances to cut the deficit, but Vik made some huge saves, keeping the Blue Hens' comfortable lead intact.
The Knights will look to bounce back on Friday night against Princeton at Yurcak Field on Busch campus. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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