Rutgers men's soccer 2nd half push falls short in loss to No. 22 Seton Hall
A familiar trend continued in the Rutgers men's soccer team's 3-1 loss to Seton Hall on Monday night. The Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-0) played down a man for the fourth straight game after senior defender Joey Zalinsky was sent off for an aggressive tackle on a Pirate (5-0, 0-0) halfway through the first half.
Rutgers started the game well, limiting No. 22 Seton Hall from creating scoring opportunities, but everything changed in the 24th minute when Zalinsky received his second red card of the season.
From there, the Pirates took advantage of the extra man and opened the scoring approximately 9 minutes later. A cross into the box found the head of Liam Guske, who found the back of the net for his 1st career goal.
Seton Hall kept its foot on the gas pedal and scored a 2nd goal in the 41st minute. Tim Ströbeck netted his 1st of the season, assisted by Jack Kossoudji and Til Kauschke.
At halftime, the Pirates led 2-0 and completely controlled the game, with the Knights looking depleted and lifeless.
The beginning of the second half saw Seton Hall dominate possession and control the game's tempo.
Junior goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton had to make several crucial saves to keep Rutgers in the game, with the Pirates pushing for a 3rd goal.
The Knights started to grow into the match with a great chance from senior midfielder Curt Calov, forcing Seton Hall goalkeeper Matias Molina into a diving save to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Approximately 2 minutes later, a mistake from Molina gifted graduate student forward Ola Maeland an open goal, who took advantage to score his 2nd goal of the season and make it a 2-1 affair.
With Rutgers down 1 goal, it pushed for the equalizer and played more attacking.
The Knights had one last chance on a corner kick with less than 1 minute to play. Every player, including Dalton, came forward, which proved detrimental.
The Pirates defended the corner and with Dalton out of goal, Jared Smith slotted the ball into the open net to seal the win.
Rutgers will begin Big Ten play at Yurcak Field on Busch campus against Indiana on Friday night. The blackout game will kick off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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