Men's Soccer to Host Northeastern in Season Opener - Rutgers University Athletics (2024)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team will open the 2024 fall season at home, welcoming Northeastern to Yurcak Field on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. Admission is always free!

The match will be streamed live on B1G+ and as well as onWRSU.

Big Ten Preseason Honors

The Big Ten announced its 2024 men's soccer preseason honors Wednesday afternoon, naming Joey Zalinsky, Curt Calov and Ola Maeland as Players to Watch.

Zalinsky picks up the honor for a second year in a row,after yet another outstanding season on the Scarlet Knights' backline. In the 2023 campaign, Zalinsky started all 15 games he was available for and ranked second on the team with 1,314 minutes on the pitch. He played in all 90 minutes of the 2-0 shutout win against Columbia (Sept. 13) the historic 2-1 win against Maryland (Oct. 3) for the program's first-ever win in College Park.

In his first season "On The Banks" Calov proved to be an elite midfielder in the Big Ten. The senior saw action in 15 games and made 13 starts. He recorded nine points, the second highest total on the team, netting three goals and three assists. Calov also paced the Scarlet Knights with 32 total shots and 16 attempts on goal.

Maeland will continue to be a key piece of the puzzle for RU this season on the attacking end. In 2023, he appeared in all 16 outings and made 14 starts. He recorded four goals, the second most for RU, for eight points, the third highest total on the season. Maeland netted three of the four goals in conference play, including the game winner against Penn State (Oct. 17) in the regular season. He found the back of the net for another score against the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 3), earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

2024 Team Captains

At the start of preseason, head coach Jim McElderry named three captains for the 2024 fall season. Joey Zalinsky was selected for the honor for the second consecutive season in addition to fellow senior Aidan Flynn and junior Cole Cruthers.

"Being a captain for the second season in a row means a lot," said Zalinsky. "It shows that I am more than just a leader. I am able to help this team win andhelp my teammates on and off the field."

Flynn, a four-year defender for the Scarlet Knights, has seen the team evolve and thrive during his tenure "On The Banks." Now he is excited to help lead and encourage that growth.

"It's a really great opportunity," Flynn said. "I am so fortunate to have been able to be here all four years and have gone through the progressions. The culture has grown and every year we have become more of a family and a collective. It has been so nice to see, and I am excited to help lead that."

Although Cruthers is the youngest of the group, he is excited for what he can bring to the table. The 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year is poised for a great season on the pitch but is also ready to pass on what he has learned from his time at the collegiate level.

"It's a lot of responsibility but it's a position I have been in before," Cruthers said. "I am excited to be able to help some of the younger guys like the older guys have helped me. It's really an honor."

You can see all three donning the captain arm band this season and the groupisexcited to bring RU to new heights in 2024.

Coming Out Hot

Since McElderry joined RU ahead of the 2019 season, he has started four of the five seasons of his tenure with a win.

During his first season, he led the team to a 1-0 win over Temple before earning 2-0 decisions against Michigan State in the spring of 2021 and Delaware in the fallof the same year. In 2022, McElderry guided RU to a 4-2 victory over Omaha.

The Returners

The Scarlet Knights return a solid17 student-athletes to the 2024 roster. This includes three of the top five goal scorers from last year in Ola Maeland, Curt Calov and Ian Abbey. The three combined for 10 goals.

The team also returns some core members of their defense including Joey Zalinsky, Big Ten All-Freshman honoree Nicholas Collins, Erick Ruiz and Devon Stopek. All four started nine or more games during the previous campaign.

In addition, goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton comes back for his junior season after posting four wins, 53 saves and one shutout in 14 matches in 2023.

Introducing the Freshmen

Going into his sixth season, McElderry and his staff welcomed 11 freshmen during the offseason, tied for the biggest recruiting class since 2019.

The class is comprised of four international student-athletes: Kristófer Arnarsson (Grafarvogur, Iceland), Anthony Morano (Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada), Scott Godden (Leeds, England) and Arnar Adalsteinsson (Kopavogur, Iceland).

The remaining seven rookies are from the east coast, including six from New Jersey: Graham Kois (Scotch Plains, N.J.), Matty Lynch (Chesterfield, N.J.), Eddie Krupski (Clark, N.J.), Illia Tyrkus (Bridgewater, N.J.), Dylan Carlson (Sayreville, N.J.), Lenny Aviles (East Windsor, N.J.) and Thomas Angelone (Boston, Mass.).

Nonconference Schedule

The Scarlet Knights will face seven nonconference opponents before diving into Big Ten play.

In addition to Northeastern, the team will host Delaware, Princeton and Seton Hall. They will also travel to take on Lehigh, Providence and Yale.

While multiple teams made runs in their respective conference tournaments, Yale won the Ivy League and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

B1G Updates

With the official expansion of the Big Ten over the summer, Rutgers will go up againsttwo new foesin UCLA and Washington.

RU will post the Bruins in Piscataway for the first time as a member of the league on Friday, Oct. 18 (7 p.m.). The teams renewed their historic rivalry with matches in 2022 and 2023. UCLA picked up victories in both meetings.

The Scarlet Knights will travel to face the Huskies on Friday Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. ET. It will be just the fifth meeting between the two programs and the first since 1998.

Scouting the Huskies

Northeastern ended the 2023 slate with a 4-7-6 record. The Huskies return their top goal-scorer, Fraser Brown, who notched five goals and one assist for 11 points in his second season.

Last season's meeting between Rutgers and Northeastern ended in a 4-4 draw. The exciting match featured three lead changes and four ties with each team netting a pair of goals in the match's final 12 minutes.

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