ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 24 Rutgers men's soccer team and Michigan played to a 1-1 draw in a weather shorten Big Ten opener on Saturday afternoon at U-M Soccer Stadium with play suspended in the 72^nd minute.
 

MATCH SUMMARY

• RU's Jackson Temple was blocked from going to the Wolverine goal inside the 18 leading to a takeaway for Michigan. Working down field, Jake Hallahan passed to Christian Pulselli along the right side who then one-timed the ball to Nebojsa Popovic to beat oncoming RU keeper Oren Asher from six yards out in the third minute.
• Rutgers tied the game in the 25^th minute with Jørgen Wisth Lie converting a PK after Michigan was called for a foul inside the 18 on a Scarlet Knight corner.
• Michigan had a few dangerous chances for the go-ahead goal in the second half.
• In the 50^th minute of play, Wolverine Kevin Buca was stopped from launching a shot inside the top of the box by Vincent Borden, however, Umar Farok Osman on the rebound forced RU netminder Oren Asher to jump for the save. The ball was loose following the stop and UM's Derick Broche was whistled for the foul before his strike could go in at point blank range.
• Played was suspended in the 71^st minute for 44 minutes due to lightning strikes in the area and once the teams resumed play, weather returned and the game was called a draw.

KEY STATS

• Rutgers moved to 5-0-2 on the season in their second-straight draw after tying Penn 1-1 on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The Wolverines moved to 3-2-2 on the year. Both squads were playing in their Big Ten opener.
• Michigan held a 9-6 advantage in shots with five shots taken in the second half.
• Both teams managed a pair of corner kicks.
• Rutgers goalkeeper Oren Asher made three of his four total stops in the second half.

KNIGHT NOTES

• It is the longest season-opening unbeaten streak for Rutgers since opening the 1987 season at 7-0-0.
• Freshman Jørgen Wisth Lie improved to 3-for-3 on penalty kicks. All three of his goals in 2019 have come from the penalty spot.
• Rutgers is 4-for-4 on PK's this season and have made the most PK's since records dating back to 2006.
• The Scarlet Knights move to 1-4-1 in Big Ten openers since joining the league in 2014.

MATCH QUOTES

"Another good performance from the boys. We conceded early, but never let that affect the rest of the game. I thought we were good in the first half for long periods of time. Michigan has quality players so we knew it would not be easy. Lightning shortened the match, so our guys were disappointed not to push for the win. Overall we are content with the day and now move onto a home match on Tuesday" - head coach Jim McElderry
 

UP NEXT

The Rutgers men's soccer team returns to Yurcak Field next week for a pair of games hosting Saint Peter's in nonconference action on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. and welcoming Michigan State on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. for the Big Ten home opener.

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