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It was both a statement and a bounceback game from Rutgers men’s soccer on Tuesday night, who went on the road and secured a scoreless draw at No. 8 Maryland.
Especially impressive was how Rutgers responded following a Thursday night 2-0 loss at home to Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights put together a solid performance in churning out the road draw, an impressive result as they continue to stack points in Big Ten play.
With the tie, Rutgers is now 7-1-2. They are ranked No. 24 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.
“We had a tough game against Wisconsin and I think we were a little disappointed in how that game went. For us to bounce back…on the road, against what I think [is] a real quality opponent,” Rutgers men’s soccer head coach Jim McElderry said after the game.
“I think our guys showed we can compete with anybody in the country. We have to play well, we have to compete every play. We have enough here to be one of the top teams in the country if we can just compete every moment.”
The Scarlet Knights are 1-1-1 in Big Ten play. They play Penn State next, at home, on October 5.
Late in the second half, attacker Jackson Temple very nearly put Rutgers ahead with a shot from 16 yards out that clanged off the post.
The Philadelphia Union Academy prospect has been one of the top players in the Big Ten this year.
Saying “I thought we were up for it tonight,” McElderry liked the response of his team after injuries and setbacks in the first half could have made this a tough game. Instead, Rutgers responded well.
“Honestly, I thought they were fantastic tonight. This is a really tough place to play, they’re an excellent team, really good going forward,” McElderry said.
“And we had some opportunities today to say ‘It wasn’t our day.’ A couple guys got injured, it could have been easy for us to not be up for the challenge. But I just thought they were fantastic. We played a couple of guys who had big impacts. Really proud of our group.”