Rutgers men’s soccer was back in action on Sunday night, following their 1-0 victory over Providence on Thursday in Piscataway. This time around, the Scarlet Knights traveled north to battle Seton Hall in South Orange for the first time since 2009, where they tied the Pirates 2-2 in an exciting four-goal contest.
Rutgers goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton made three saves in the game’s first 15 minutes, but the Scarlet Knights were the first to strike. Pirates netminder Matias Molina came out to punch away
a long throw-in from Rutgers, but it bounced to midfielder Francesco Di Ponzio, before he volleyed it to fellow midfielder Joschi Schelb. Schelb redirected the ball mid-air towards the open goal, his first as a Scarlet Knight.
Seton Hall answered just fourteen minutes later, with Mikkel Lejbowicz dribilling the ball all the way from deep in the Pirates’ half into the Rutgers box, getting around two Scarlet Knights, and sliding his shot into the bottom right corner past Dalton for the equalizer. The teams entered the half tied at 1, although Seton Hall had nine shots compared to just two for Rutgers.
After the pace of the game slowed down in the early second half, the Pirates nearly took the lead in the 69th minute. Seton Hall nearly scored on a shot that was deflected across the goal, where Lejbowicz had an open look at the net with Dalton recovering from his previous save. However, freshman defender Simon Gorczowski was there to block the shot for Rutgers, keeping the game tied for the time being.
But Seton Hall scored just two minutes later, with a corner kick from Hugo Gerbore being headed into the net past Dalton by Agustin Resch, which was Resch’s first goal since August 22, 2024. Seton Hall took 2-1 lead, but Rutgers came away with the game’s final goal in the 82nd minute.
After Rutgers defender Devon Stopek crossed the ball into the box, it was headed away by a Seton Hall defender and right to freshman midfielder Jude Essuman, who took a couple of dribbles before launching a shot with his left foot into the right corner of the goal and past Molina for the game-tying goal. It was the first goal of Essuman’s college career, who had subbed in for the game’s final fifteen minutes and made a huge impact.
The Scarlet Knights were fortunate in securing the draw, as Seton Hall outshot them 15 to 5, with 6 shots on goal to 3 for Rutgers through 90 minutes. Rutgers will continue their road trip in Virginia, with a Friday night contest against James Madison followed by a Monday evening clash against William & Mary.
