Northwestern Opens Road Swing Friday At Rutgers

EVANSTON, Ill. (October 1, 2026) – Following a hard-fought victory last week, Northwestern (5-3-1, 2-1 B1G) begins a two-game road trip on Friday evening, jetting east to take on Rutgers in a 6 p.m. CT kickoff at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-0 blanking of Michigan last Friday night at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Peter Riesz delivered the night’s deciding strike in the 15^th minute, netting his fourth goal of 2026.

Northwestern played the final hour of the matchup with only 10 men, holding the Wolverines to a lone shot on goal after going a man down.

For his efforts in the Wildcats’ win, Bryant Mayer was named the Big Ten Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. Across his eight starts in 2026, Mayer, who earned his first weekly league honor, has played a full 90 minutes on five occasions.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers (4-4-1, 2-1 B1G) returns home after dropping a 4-1 decision on the road against Washington last Friday night in Seattle, Wash. Zach Mastrodimos netted the Scarlet Knights' lone goal of the contest in the 68th minute. Prior to falling to the Huskies, Rutgers had rattled off three straight wins, all over ranked foes in No. 11 UCLA, No. 11 Princeton, and No. 3 Ohio State.

Now in his eighth season in the Garden State, head coach Jim McElderry’s team features a balanced attack, with 10 different players having found the back of the net through nine games. Leading the way for the group is the trio of William Pierce, Andrew Kitch, and Nick Collins, who each have a pair of tallies on their respective ledgers. After seeing his 2025 season cut short due to injury, Amer Lukovic has impressed in the midfield for McElderry, dishing out a team-high three assists across eight appearances.

A familiar face resides in goal, as former Wildcat Rafael Ponce de León has started in all nine games this season for Rutgers. The New Jersey native, who piled up 12 clean sheets during his time in Evanston, holds a 1.22 goals against average and a 0.725 save percentage. Ponce de León has six outings with three-plus saves, highlighted by a season-high six-stop effort in a 2-1 setback to No. 5 Georgetown on August 23.

SERIES STUFF
Friday’s matchup will serve as the 15th all-time meeting between Northwestern and Rutgers in men’s soccer. Winners of their last three clashes against the Scarlet Knights, the Wildcats lead the all-time series, 8-6 (.571).

The two teams played a thriller last season at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, a 2-1 Northwestern victory. First-half goals from Aaron O’Reilly and Alejandro Martinez Santamaria vaulted the ‘Cats in front before a frantic closing three minutes in which the Scarlet Knights struck the crossbar twice and had an effort cleared off the line.

In Northwestern’s last visit to Yurcak Field, the visitors rallied from an early deficit, as goals from Nigel Prince and Akinjide Awujo sent the ‘Cats out as 2-1 winners in their first road victory over Rutgers since 2016.

UP NEXT
Northwestern heads back out on the road on Saturday, October 10, visiting Seattle, Wash. for a 9 p.m. CT clash with reigning NCAA National Champion Washington at Husky Soccer Stadium.