Greczek Becomes All-Time Saves Leader
PEORIA, Ill. - Senior goalkeeper David Greczek became the Scarlet Knights' all-time save leader, junior Jason Wright put away two goals and an assist and sophomore Thomas Dovell captured the game-winner on his first career goal as the Rutgers men's soccer team closed out the regular season with a 3-2 victory over Bradley.
The Scarlet Knights (1-13-2) fought back from an early 1-0 deficit and a 2-2 tie early in the second half to end the regular season on a high note.
"These guys have been through so much adversity this season, but they fought hard, never gave up, and gave their very best to get this result tonight," said head coach Dan Donigan. "They have been put up against a lot between an incredibly tough schedule and the amount of injuries the roster has taken, but they never once bailed and battled to the very end to get this win."
The Braves (2-13-3) opened scoring in the sixth minute with Falk Dennert collecting a loose ball at the edge of the box before firing from 16-yards out.
It only took Rutgers 1:11 to strike back. Greczek, off a long kick, connected with Wright deep in Bradley territory and reached the back of the Brave net from 12-yards out, finishing into the lower right corner. Wright's night continued by putting the Scarlet Knights ahead in the 20th minute. Off a free kick from 25-yards, the Kingston, Jamaica native placed the ball into the upper left corner.
Bradley tied the game at 2-2 a little over four minutes into the second half. From the left post, Donald Link slid to put away the ball into the opposite corner.
Less than a minute later, however, Rutgers took back the lead. Thomas Dovell, on his first Scarlet Knight goal, tallied the game-winner taking a pass from Wright at the left corner of the box into the lower opposite corner of the Brave goal.
The Rutgers defense held steadfast as the Scarlet Knights endured 10 Bradley shots in the game's final 40 minutes.
The Braves ended the game outshooting RU, 22-11, and held a 7-3 edge in corners.
Greczek closed out the night with seven saves. His third save of the game pushed him ahead of Joe DeMorat (1984-87) to the top of Rutgers' all-time saves leaders list. The Fairfield, New Jersey product has collected 368 career stops in his four-year career "On the Banks".
Bradley's Logan Ketterer registered a pair of saves in the loss.
"It's a whole new season now," added Donigan. "We go into the Big Ten Tournament with a clean slate. After getting this win, these guys are excited for the challenge and have a tremendous amount of energy to prove themselves in the conference tournament."
The Rutgers men's soccer team will take on Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament play-in game. The ninth-seeded Scarlet Knights meet the eighth-seeded Wolverines in College Park, Maryland on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. The winner will advance to play top-seeded Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 6.
KNIGHT NOTES:
- Goalkeeper David Greczek became Rutgers' all-time saves leader with his seven saves against the Braves. He currently leads all active goalkeepers in career saves and saves per game. Greczek now has 96 saves on the season which places his name ninth on the single season list. Greczek's name can also be found third on the list having collected 108 saves as a freshman in 2013.
- David Greczek also logged his third career assist with the helper on Jason Wright's second goal of the game.
- Jason Wright recorded five points on the night with a pair of goals and assist. It was his second multiple goal game of the season after registered a hat trick against No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 27.
- Wright currently leads Rutgers with 14 points stemming from six goals and two assists.
- In his three seasons "On the Banks", Wright has collected 70 career points off 29 goals and 12 assists. He needs three more points to crack the Rutgers Top 10 and surpass Mike Shaw (1993-96) and Richard Goodstat (1962-64).
- Thomas Dovell posted his first career goals and first career game-winner.
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