Pierce, Montgomery earn Big Ten Weekly Awards
Sep 22 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. ā Rutgers men's soccer won a pair of Big Ten Weekly Awards from the conference on Tuesday, with Braxton Montgomery named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and William Pierce named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. It marked the first conference honors of the season for RU.
Montgomery and Pierce played crucial roles in the Scarlet Knights defeating No. 11 Princeton on Tuesday and No. 3 Ohio State on the road Friday.
Montgomery collected a goal and an assist on the week while playing a key role in the 2-0 shutout win over the Tigers. Early in the match, he assisted Abubaker Mayanja on what wound up being the game-winning goal. Starting on the back line, Montgomery played 80 minutes and helped shut out Princeton in the upset win. In Friday's match against the Buckeyes, Montgomery scored the equalizer in the 26th minute on a volley. He helped keep OSU off the scoreboard the rest of the match, allowing the Scarlet Knights to complete the comeback victory.
Pierce also registered a goal and an assist, scoring against Princeton and assisting against Ohio State. Just before halftime against the Tigers, he capped off a passing combination with a classy finish into the bottom-left corner to give RU a 2-0 lead and breathing room against the in-state rival. At Ohio State, he was involved in the game-winner in the second half. With the game tied 1-1 in the 55th minute, he found Josh Jerome after Rutgers won the ball back on a high press, with Jerome scoring to give the Scarlet Knights a 2-1 victory.
Rutgers will have a week off before returning to action on the West Coast, taking on Washington next Friday at 10:30 p.m.
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