On Sept. 30, the Hawks traveled to Yurcak Field at Rutgers, where ultimately the Scarlet Knights defeated the Hawks 2-0.
The battle on the field was long, with a pair of saves coming from freshman goalkeeper Herman Johnsen in the first five minutes of the game. Early pressure from Rutgers did not go unnoticed, as Monmouth was able to repeatedly drive the Scarlet Knights back into the midfield. Monmouth had a solid attempt at a goal with a shot from junior defenseman Raul Garcia in the 27th minute, but the ball missed high. With a few late shots that did not find the back of the net from Rutgers, both teams went into the half tied at zero.
With two Monmouth substitutions coming into the half, the Hawks started strong, firing the first two of three shots on goal. The shots came from Garcia and senior forward Jakob Friedman. With two more attempts from sophomore midfielder Brendan Tansey and sophomore forward Victor Andersson, who in the 74th minute managed to rocket one towards the goal, but the Rutgers goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton was able to make the save, keeping the score at 0-0 in the 74th minute.
This was short-lived when, at the 77th minute, a goal from Rutgers’ Dan Karsten broke the scoreless tie to put Rutgers ahead 1-0. Monmouth had another attempt in the 85th minute, as sophomore forward Kevin DeCapua got a shot off, which did not find the back of the net. In the next minute, another shot from Dan Karsten put Rutgers in the lead 2-0. Senior midfielder Patrick Osiecki attempted one last shot, but unfortunately it would be for not as Rutgers would claim a 2-0 victory.
Rutgers now leads the overall match-up with 12 wins, one loss, and one draw. This match was the 14th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Scarlet Knights led in shots 19-7, with the Hawks leading in saves 3-2.
Following the loss, Monmouth hosted Drexel at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn on Oct. 4 with a little over 400 attendees. Monmouth again applied the pressure early, with a shot coming from Friedman in the first five minutes of the game, which was saved by Drexel’s goalkeeper Raphael Bartell in the bottom center part of the net. This was then countered with three shots over 10 minutes from Drexel, with two shots being saved bottom right by Johnsen. The two teams battled it out on the field when, in the 43rd minute, Osiecki took a pass to Friedman at the top of the box, where he rocketed the ball into the top corner of the net. The Hawks took the 1-0 lead going into the half. This was Friedman’s second goal of the season, and Osiecki’s third assist of the season. Osiecki ranks second on the team in assists for the season.
Both teams continued to battle it out on the field, with a pair of substitutions coming off the bench for Drexel coming out of the half. The second half was more physical with both teams racking up fouls. The Hawks were able to hold the 1-0 lead until the 63rd minute, when Drexel’s Brian Salvino scored. The fight continued as Andersson, Osiecki, junior forward Javier Losa, and Tansey attempted shots on goal. With an amazing save from Johnsen in the final minute, the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
This was the 11th all-time meeting between the two teams. Drexel led in shots with 12-9, Monmouth led in saves with 4-2, and both teams tied for fouls with 13 each. Monmouth had five of the seven corner kicks in this game. Friedman ranks second in the CAA for assists per game, averaging 1.09 points per game, and Garcia entered the week as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week.
The Hawks will travel to Boston on Oct. 11, where for the second time this season they will match-up with the Northeastern Huskies.
