Michigan
Rutgers
Osman Header Propels Michigan to Senior Night Victory Over Rutgers
10/22/2021 10:18:00 PM | Men's Soccer
» With its 2-1 win over Rutgers on Friday night, Michigan moves into a first-place tie atop the Big Ten standings.
» Umar Farouk Osman netted his fourth career game-winner with his second-half header.
» Uriel Zeitz scored his first goal as a Wolverine in the first half.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Stadium)
Score: Michigan 2, Rutgers 1
Records: U-M (7-5-3, 4-2-1 B1G), Rutgers (8-4-2, 2-4-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, Oct. 26 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 7 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On a night celebrating the 2021 senior class, senior Umar Farouk Osman headed in the game-winning goal in the second half to send the University of Michigan men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Rutgers on Friday night (Oct. 22) at U-M Soccer Stadium.
With the win, the Wolverines move into a tie for first place with Maryland in the Big Ten standings as both teams have 13 points.
Rutgers (8-4-2, 2-4-1 Big Ten) knotted the score in the second half, but a play orchestrated by senior Marc Ybarra led to the game-winning goal in the 64th minute. He brought the ball into the 18-yard box before flicking it off to Inaki Rodriguez on the end line. Rodriguez made a quick pass in the air and across the box to a breaking Osman, who headed the ball down and into the net.
Rodriguez tallied his second assist of the evening -- he also set up Zeitz for U-M's first goal -- while Kevin Buca also earned an assist on Zeitz's goal. Michigan (7-5-3, 4-2-1 Big Ten) tallied 13 total shots on the evening, with eight on goal, while the defense held Rutgers to just seven shots. Freshman Hayden Evans made three saves on the night and earned his sixth win of the season.
In the 39th minute, the Wolverines took possession of the ball at midfield when Derick Broche stripped Rutgers of the ball and got it to Buca. He quickly got the ball over to Rodriguez, who one-touched it between two defenders ahead to Zeitz. The junior midfielder caught up to the ball and brought it into the 18-yard box before striking the ball into the bottom-third of the net to give Michigan a 1-0 advantage.
U-M held onto the lead into halftime. The Wolverines outshot the Scarlet Knights 6-2 in the first half and had three shots on goal.
Rutgers tied the game in 52nd minute on a shot from 20 yards out into the upper-right corner of the goal but the Maize and Blue quickly answered with Osman's header.
Michigan fought off Rutgers for the remainder of the match to earn the victory.
The Wolverines conclude the 2021 regular season Tuesday (Oct. 26) when they take on Ohio State at 7 p.m. in Columbus. The match will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
