Behind Enemy Lines: Rutgers

The No. 25 Michigan men’s soccer team travels to Piscataway to take on Rutgers in an early season Big Ten clash. 

The Scarlet Knights have endured an uneven start to the season, posting a 3-5-1 record and an 0-2 start to Big Ten play, and are coming off a 3-0 defeat to No. 4 Ohio State. However, they still boast an exciting lineup of attackers who pose a credible threat to the Wolverines. 

Michigan has enjoyed its best start to a season since 2007, unbeaten through eight games with a 5-0-3 record. Key to their success is a rock-solid defense, in addition to posing a lethal threat on the left flank through the combination of junior defender Bryce Blevins and graduate forward Beto Soto. 

To learn more about Rutgers ahead of the matchup, The Michigan Daily spoke with Matthew Mangam, associate sports editor and men’s soccer beat writer for The Daily Targum, Rutgers’ student newspaper. Here’s what he had to say about the game:

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity

Who can Michigan really expect to be Rutgers’ big goal threats?

There’s really three offensive players that come to mind: Curt Calov, Ola Maeland, and Ian Abbey. 

Curt Calov has four goals this season, the most on the team. He already surpassed his total from last year, which was three. All his goals have come in the first 10 minutes too, which is kind of crazy. He hasn’t scored in a couple games, though. Rutgers has kind of been in a tough stretch, so he hasn’t really scored recently, but beginning of the season, he was on a tear. And you know, he’s still a great player. He’s a Jersey guy. Went to Syracuse, was there when they won the national championship, then came back to Rutgers last year. Kind of a rough season last year, but had flashes. And this year, I think he settled in more in his senior season.

Up top, Rutgers has Ola Maeland as a striker. He has three goals, he’s a fifth year. On Sunday against Ohio State, (the Scarlet Knights)  lost 3-0, but I think he really did well, considering the Buckeyes backline. He had a few good chances, but the Ohio State goalkeeper made some good saves. He’s fast, takes on defenders. And then there’s Ian Abbey. I think he’s got the most pace on the team. He’s a winger. He makes the run in behind, he’ll play the ball into Maeland. 

How does Rutgers usually set up tactically?

Rutgers really likes to play out the back. They pass out the back. Their center backs play balls over the top, trying to find the runs. And usually, that’s Ian Abbey, a lot of times, or even Ola Maeland. Those are the two players that make a lot of runs. So they like playing off the backs, because they can get counter attacks as well. They’ve been very physical, too. They have a lot of yellow cards. They also have four straight games with red cards which is the most in the country right now, which is not good. But while they definitely like to have the ball, if they need it, they’ll park the bus. Depends on the minute, the time is, how much they’re leading by. Against Princeton, they were up 2-0 and they parked the bus. They also had a red card in that game, so it made sense. When they’re up, they’ll play more defensive. It’s rare that I see Rutgers go for a second goal, unless it’s early in the game. For example, against Northeastern in the season opener, they were up 2-0 and they pushed that third goal and then they got it eventually. When they lead in the second half, they definitely play more defensively. 

Rutgers’ last game in Columbus didn’t go the way it wanted. Can you tell me a little bit about what went wrong in this game and what the Knights are looking to do to rectify that?

That first half, Rutgers was really all over Ohio State. They were really bringing the game to them. It was happening well. And then Ohio State scored, just a good finish. And, I feel like when Rutgers goes down, they just kind of fall flat. They looked dejected. And that was the story of the second half. Once Ohio State had that second goal, it was basically over for the Knights. They were defeated, and then that double added on. It’s tough because I think the team moved on to defending well, like I saw against Princeton, but also sometimes, their defending is just questionable. The offense, I think, was definitely promising, but again, just conceding the goal, is kind of what took the momentum out of the team.

What do you think are some of the areas that Rutgers matches up well against Michigan? And what do you think are some areas where the Knights don’t match up necessarily as well?

I mean, it’s tough to pinpoint something, but like I said, I really like Rutgers’ attack. I really rate them. They’re all really experienced and really have time to do good things. Ola Maeland and Ian Abbey were part of the 2022 Big Ten Championship squad. Abbey was only a freshman, but he was making an impact. I think Michigan’s defense is good, but I think Rutgers is good at creating chances, especially being at home. As for the defense, Rutgers’ backline was very young last year, three freshmen and one junior — now it’s three sophomores and one senior. So the players have kind of grown and gotten better. I think Rutgers’ defense is better than it was last year, but it still hasn’t quite gotten to the level where it should be. Rutgers goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton — great goalkeeper. I think his stats don’t look as great because of the defense running down some plays. I think (the Knights’) goalkeeper is very good, but I think the defense has shown signs, but it’s very inconsistent.

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