With a proud tradition of excellence, Rutgers Soccer has put together a litany of memorable matches and it brings the fans back each and every year.
Coach Reasso takes great pride in taking the program to new heights every year. Rutgers has become one of the marquee teams in college soccer. Opposing fans circle the date on the calendar when the Scarlet Knights will be in town. The “Main Event” atmosphere at every home match reaches a fever pitch as the post-season approaches.
But for a program to reach this level of national recognition, it has to win. It has to win matches against other top teams, it has to win conference matches and it has to win in the post-season. It is that simple. You can have all the bells and whistles you like, but it comes down to winning.
And the Scarlet Knights win.
In 1997, Rutgers became the first BIG EAST Champion in school history after defeating St. John’s in the Championship Match of the BIG EAST Tournament. It was another one of those memorable matches. The action went back and forth, and the score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. It was Rutgers determination and hard work that was the difference. Goalkeeper Jon Conway wouldn’t allow St. John’s to get a second goal, and freshman Tim Davidson netted the game winner with just nine minutes left in OT. The match was a titanic clash and no one would expect anything less from the Scarlet Knights and the Red Storm, who are coached by Dave Masur, a former All-American at Rutgers who played for Reasso.
The “Big Game” is where Rutgers is at its best. Under Reasso, RU has a winning record in the NCAA Tournament (11-8-1) and in conference tournaments (16-3-2). He has led the Scarlet Knights to five conference championships, nine NCAA Tournaments (eight in the last 10 years), an NCAA Championship game (1990), and three NCAA Final Fours (1989, ‘90, ‘94). His players have gone on to professional success on the national and international level as well.
Rutgers is only one of five programs in America that has been to the NCAA Tournament at least eight times in the past decade. In the past 15 seasons, 11 different Scarlet Knights have earned All-America honors. Rutgers players have been American pioneers in foreign lands. Peter Vermes, an All-American and runner-up for the 1987 National Player of the Year Award, was the first American to play in Hungary’s and Holland’s First Division. He was the 1988 U.S. Male Soccer Athlete of the Year and Olympic Player of the Year for the 1988 Summer Games. Big time performer in big time event.
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Alexi Lalas |
Alexi Lalas, a three-time All-American and 1991 consensus National Player of the Year, is the first and only American to play in Italy’s Serie A. He was the 1995 U.S. Male Soccer Athlete of the Year and scored the clinching goal for the U.S. in its historic win over England in 1993. Big Goal in a Big Game.
Former Scarlet Knight standout Hamisi Amani-Dove now plays in Holland’s First Division. He scored the game winning goal for his club team Azete into the First Division of Holland. Another Big goal in a big game for a Scarlet Knight.
The success on the professional level for those Scarlet Knights comes from a foundation of playing in a big game atmosphere at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knight home matches have boasted the highest crowds in America over the past five seasons, in the newly built Soccer Stadium which has “set standards” for other colleges and universities, according to Tony Meola goalkeeper for the New York/New Jersey Metrostars. In those five seasons, Rutgers has played Indiana, UCLA, St. John’s, Notre Dame, Maryland, Florida International, Penn State and Brown in front of capacity crowds amid the electric environment that is New Jersey soccer.
With a 20-4 record, 1989 became a watershed season for Reasso and the Knights. Rutgers advanced to the National Semifinals and served as host to the Final Four. RU lost to Virginia in its first trip to the promised land, but in truth, getting there was half the fun. In the Regional Semifinal, Rutgers hosted Columbia, and Steve Rammel stole the show scoring all three Rutgers goals in the 3-1 victory. Next up for Rutgers was the Region Finals and Vermont. Before a crowd of 5,050, the largest to ever see a Rutgers game at that time, Chris Brauchle’s goal in the 109th minute gave Rutgers the win and its first trip to soccer’s Final Four.
The 1990 season was an even better year. After a 17-2-2 regular season and an Atlantic 10 Championship, Rutgers defeated Adelphi, Dartmouth and Evansville in succession to reach the National Championship game. The victory over Evansville was particularly sweet because the Purple Aces came into the game with an undefeated record and the No. 1 ranking. It was Rutgers’ second win over a No. 1 team that season. Earlier in the year, Rutgers defeated UCLA, which was then ranked No. 1, in its adidas/Metlife Classic. Ironically, with the win over Evansville, Rutgers moved on to meet UCLA in the championship match. After a scoreless regulation, overtime and sudden death overtime, UCLA won the championship in a penalty kick shootout.
In 1991, Rutgers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after a glorious regular season. Rutgers reeled off a 15-match unbeaten streak and earned the No. 1 ranking in America, which was the first time a team in Rutgers sports history was ranked No. 1.
A year of growing pains was next for the Scarlet Knights who lost their two captains, Pedro Lopes and Jeff Zaun prior to the start of the season. But in 1993, Rutgers returned to the elite of college soccer. That year, RU finished with a 17-5-1 record and was ranked No. 7 in the final adidas/ISAA National poll.
In 1994, Rutgers turned in its worst regular season in Reasso’s career under the intense pressure of national expectations and a preseason No. 1 ranking. But the post-season was a different story. Rutgers ran off six consecutive wins, all of which seemed to be pulled from the jaws of defeat, to gain its third Final Four berth in six seasons. A loss to Virginia in the National Semifinals ended the run and ironically, many thought Rutgers had outplayed the three-time defending champs, but it wasn’t to be.
After such a disappointing 1995, the 1996 season might have been the most rewarding for Reasso and his coaching staff. Built with a lineup of mostly underclassmen, the Scarlet Knights played another rigorous schedule and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Impressive victories including a shootout win over St. John’s in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals, impressed the NCAA Tournament committee so much that they rewarded the Knights with a first round home match against Cornell. Rutgers defeated Cornell, 2-1, but fell in the second round to Florida International 2-0. FIU then went on to face St. John’s in the National Championship game. In looking back at a year where the team started seven first or second-year players and reached the NCAA second round, no one could have been more satisfied than Reasso.
The 1996 season served as the building block for the Scarlet Knights who reeled off nine consecutive wins on the way to the school’s first BIG EAST Championship. After that win, Reasso proclaimed, “We wanted to win this championship for the Rutgers Community. We talked about it in the locker room before the game, and we hope that every Rutgers fan can enjoy this championship.”
