Starting XI: Men’s Soccer vs. No. 9 Indiana

Friday, March 19

Piscataway, N.J.

2 PM ET

Rutgers University

No. 9 Indiana

Photo by: David Wilcomes

Mar 18 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch on Big Ten Network+

The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights take on the Hoosiers in Big Ten action

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's soccer (3-3-0) takes another shot at a Top 10 opponent when No. 9 Indiana (4-1-0) visits Yurcak Field on Friday, March 19 at 1 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network+.

I HOW TO FOLLOW: Big Ten Network+ (Play-by-play: Lou Brogno; Analyst: Glen Crooks) | Live Stats | @RUMensSoccer

II LAST TIME OUT: The Scarlet Knights fell in a 4-2 shootout at Penn State (3-1-0) in a Big Ten match on Monday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. The teams combined for 32 shots. The Nittany Lions led by a two-goal margin at three different times, with RU's senior forward Ritchie Barry and senior defender Vincent Borden each cutting the Scarlet Knights' deficit to one with goals in the contest. Junior midfielder Nick Cruz assisted Barry's marker in the 34^th minute, and Borden's was an unassisted blast in the 54^th.

III SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS: Sophomore midfielder Brett Bebej was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, while sophomore keeper Roman Celentano claimed Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Indiana took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference standings after defeating Michigan State, 2-1, on Monday evening. IU sits atop the standings with 12 points. In the program's last 41 Big Ten regular season matches, Indiana holds a record of 30-2-9.

Redshirt senior defender Spencer Glass leads the conference in assists this season with five. He is the program's career active leader in helpers with 21.

IV THE SERIES: Indiana holds a series advantage of 9-2-2 against Rutgers, including a mark of 4-1-1 since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten Conference ahead of the 2014 campaign. The Hoosiers are undefeated in the last four matchups (3-0-1) against the Scarlet Knights. Indiana has outscored Rutgers 9-0 during that stretch. The last RU victory came back on Sept. 20, 2015.

V LAST TIME VS. INDIANA: BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Rutgers dropped a Big Ten match at No. 10 Indiana by a score of 3-0 in front of 2,105 fans at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium, where the Hoosiers extended their home undefeated streak to 35 with a record of 31-0-4. Indiana's second half markers in the 54th, 72nd and 79th minutes held up in the Hoosiers' fourth shutout of the year, with goals scored by Joris Ahlinvi, Joe Schmidt, and Aidan Morris.

VI TO ASHER WE SHALL RETURN: Sophomore goalkeeper Oren Asher, who is ranked first in the Big Ten with three shutouts, earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for a second time this season after his 2-0 shutout against Maryland and an eight-save performance in the 1-0 setback to No. 9 Michigan. Also earning the distinction after opening week on Feb. 24, Asher becomes the first Scarlet Knights to earn multiple Defensive Player of the Week awards from the Big Ten, and the first Scarlet Knight overall to earn multiple weekly conference awards in a season since Jason Wright in 2015. Asher ranks second in the Big Ten with an .880 save percentage and third with a 0.60 goals-against average.

VII RITCHIE ROLLIN': Senior Ritchie Barry, a transfer from St. Joseph's, is ranked third in the Big Ten with four goals this season. That gives him 17 goals for his career. The Wales native cut Penn State's two-goal lead in half on Monday at Penn State with a well-placed and hard-struck header off a Nick Cruz corner kick. Two of his goals have gone down as game-winners for the Scarlet Knights.

VIII TEMPLE TIME: Sophomore midfielder Jackson Temple was named to the National Team of the Week by Top Drawer Soccer after opening week, and the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week following Week 2.The Millville, Pa. native has at least two points in three of six matches, scoring the lone goal in the 1-0 win at Wisconsin. Temple had his hand in all three Rutgers goals through the first two matches of the season. He assisted both tallies in the 2-0 victory at Michigan State, which was the program's first win against the Spartans and the first win a Big Ten opener since 2014. Temple then scored RU's goal in the 2-1 setback to No. 20 Penn State, burying a penalty in the 33^rd minute to draw the Scarlet Knights even.

IX PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Big Ten Conference announced Pablo Avila, Hugo Le Guennec and Jackson Temple as Rutgers Players to Watch for the 2021 Spring Season. Avila, a junior from Terrassa, Spain, is returning as the team's leading point scorer with six goals and two assists, earning a nod to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Le Guennec and Temple were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2019, and return with big expectations for their sophomore years "On the Banks." Le Guennec, a back out of Massy, France, contributed to Rutgers' four shutouts and an exceptional 0.84 goals-against average during the 6-0-2 start. Temple, a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, was the team's second-leading point scorer with five goals.

X EARNED EXPERIENCE: RU returns 14 letterwinners from last season, including eight of 11 starters. Junior Pablo Avila is the leading returning point scorer with six goals and two assists from last season. Junior Thomas DeVizio has 30 appearances on the backline, where he's joined by Le Guennec, Borden. Senior midfielder Kyle Galloway has played in 39 career games, joined by senior Vincenzo Pugliese (31 career appearances) and junior Nick Cruz (27 games played). A young attacking front includes sophomores Anthony O'Donnell and Randy Arronis, who both picked up their first collegiate points last season as freshmen.

XI NEW BLOOD: The Scarlet Knights have the No. 26 nationally ranked recruiting class heading into the season, according to Top Drawer Soccer. Coach McElderry and staff welcomed 12 newcomers to the roster - 11 freshmen and senior transfer Ritchie Barry from St. Joseph's. Barry (4) and freshman Colin Beasley (1) have scored goals for RU, while Moussa Sabaly made the starting lineup in all six matches for RU, picking up his first collegiate point with an assist in the win over Maryland. Ola Maeland has played impactful minutes over the last five outings, with an average of 30.5 minutes per match over that span. Meet the newest Scarlet Knights.

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