PHILADELPHIA, Pa.  (September 24, 2013) – The Rutgers men’s soccer team fell 2-0 to the Drexel Dragons on Tuesday night at Vidas Field.

Drexel, the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association regular season champions, improved to 4-2-1 on the season, while the Scarlet Knights dropped to 3-4-1 on the year. 

The two squads battled to a scoreless tie until 12 minutes into second half as Drexel’s Nathan Page broke the stalemate.  Mark Donohue’s shot attempt was stopped by RU keeper David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) but rebounded to Page, who put away what would be the game-winner from 10 yards out at the 53^rd minute.

The Dragons added an insurance goal at the midway point of the second half.  A shot by Adam Arana was slowed by a diving Greczek, but the ball got behind the RU netminder allowing Drexel’s Ken Tribbett to poke the ball in at the goal line.

Rutgers had 11 shots on the night led by six from the foot of sophomore midfielder Mael Corboz (Green Brook, N.J.), including an attempt that hit the crossbar late in first half play. 

Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.) also had another scoring opportunity for the Scarlet Knights in the opening half.  The sophomore was looking for a repeat of his corner goal against South Carolina, but had his header saved by Drexel goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach early in first half action.

Early in the second half, junior midfielder Nathan Bruccoleri (Bordentown, N.J.) was able to get into the box, but the swarming Drexel defense altered his shot that allowed the Dragon’s Afflerbach the save.

RU was edged in shots, 13-11, while the Scarlet Knights held a 3-0 advantage in corners. 

Greczek finished with three saves, while Afflerbach recorded two for the Dragons in the win

“Clearly we’re disappointed with tonight’s result,” said head coach Dan Donigan.  “It was a matter of execution on our end.  We’ll take this gut check and get ready to go back into conference play this weekend.”

The Rutgers men’s soccer team travels to Memphis for its first road American Athletic Conference contest on Saturday, Sept. 28.  The first ever meeting between the Scarlet Knights and Tigers kicks off at 7 p.m.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersMensSoccer) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RUMensSoccer) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.

-RU-