PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 11, 2014) –  The Rutgers men’s soccer team’s homecoming was spoiled by Michigan with a 3-0 loss Saturday night at Yurcak Field.

The Wolverines, who scored all three goals in first half action, won their third straight to improve to 4-5-2 overall and 2-1-2 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights, who were returning to Yurcak Field after three-straight games on the road, fell to 3-7-1 overall and 1-3-1 in the league.  

Michigan made the most of their chances scoring three times on five first half shots. Will Mellors-Blair put away the game-winner on his first goal of the season eight minutes into the game. Teammate James Murphy made the feed from 25-yards out to the left corner of the box to connect with Mellors-Blair. As goalkeeper David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) slid to stop the shot, Mellors-Blair avoided the stop and put the ball away.

Nearly eight minutes afterwards, the Wolverines went up 2-0 with Mellors-Blair providing the assist. Mellors-Blair connected with Michigan leading scorer Colin McAttee in the center of RU’s offensive side and found the back of the net from the top of the 18.

Michigan made it 3-0 in the 25^th minute on Mellors-Blair’s second tally of the game. Following a Scarlet Knight corner attempt, Tyler Arnone’s clear made its way to Mellors-Blair deep downfield and past the Rutgers defense.

RU was able to keep the Wolverines scoreless in the second half with Michigan holding a slight edge in shots, 7-6, in the half.  Sophomore Mitchell Walier (Holmdel, N.J.) saw action in net for the second straight game and posted five of RU’s six saves on the evening.

Both sophomore Erik Sa (Watchung, N.J.) and freshman Jason Wright (Kingston, Jamaica) gave Rutgers a pair opportunities to get onto the scoreboard in the second half. Sa had a turnaround shot from the dead center of the box that was thwarted by Michigan keeper Adam Grinwis 10 minutes in to the second half.  The sophomore Scarlet Knight also had a cross at the front of the Wolverine net in the 67^th minute of action that redshirt sophomore Kiernan Kemmerer (Belle Mead, N.J.) got a piece of and landed wide right of the Michigan net.

Wright had a hard blast from the top left corner of the 18 in the 65^th minute that was stopped by Grinwis. Then with time winding down, Wright dribbled through the RU offensive third of the field with three minutes remaining, but was taken down inside the box before getting off a shot.

“You are going to go through some tough times and tonight’s game was one of those more difficult moments,” said head coach Dan Donigan. “That’s how people will judge you, how you respond and act in tough times. Right now we are in a very difficult time, but we’ll see who the tough guys are and the mentally strong guys are as we go forward.”

The Rutgers men's soccer team hosts Penn in nonconference play on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. There will be a Junior Knights Pre-Game Clinic and the first 150 Junior Knights will receive a Rutgers soccer youth scarf. The game will also be available on BTN Plus.

KNIGHT NOTES:

-          Redshirt sophomore Kiernan Kemmerer earned the start on defense against the Wolverines playing in place of Drew Morgan, who missed the contest after a red card on Tuesday night with Princeton.

-          Goalkeeper Mitchell Walier made his third appearance of the season in goal for the Scarlet Knights. His five saves in playing the entire second half were a career-high. He previously made four stops in games with Princeton and #16 Michigan State. He has totaled 13 saves in his four career appearances.

-          The Scarlet Knights held an 8-4 edge in corners.

-          Freshman forward Jason Wright led RU with three shots. He leads the team in the category with 26 shots.

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-RU-