Jerome's winner vs. Ohio State caps Rutgers' three ranked upsets
The short version
- Jerome scored the 54th-minute winner in Rutgers' 2-1 win at No. 3 Ohio State.
- Rutges beat No. 11 UCLA, No. 11 Princeton and No. 3 Ohio State in an eight-day span.
- Rutgers is 4-3-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 21 nationally.
- Rutgers scrimmaged Senegal's national team in June, losing 3-1 after leading 1-0.
- Rutgers visits Washington on Friday.
The sophomore from Freehold Township scored the decisive goal against the third-ranked Buckeyes after a summer scrimmage with Senegal boosted the Scarlet Knights' belief.
Rutgers sophomore midfielder Joshua Jerome, a Freehold Township native, scored the go-ahead goal in the 54th minute of a 2-1 victory at third-ranked Ohio State, capping a stretch that also included wins over then-No. 11 UCLA and No. 11 Princeton within eight days.
The turning point for the program may have come in June, when Senegal's national team trained at Rutgers' facility in New Brunswick ahead of the FIFA World Cup and faced the Scarlet Knights in a closed-door scrimmage. Saddle Brook High School graduate Simon Gorczowski put Rutgers ahead 1-0 on a breakaway before Senegal pulled away for a 3-1 win.
Jerome said the experience left the group believing it could compete with anyone, and the results have followed. Rutgers stands 4-3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, is ranked No. 21 nationally, and visits Washington on Friday.
Before college, Jerome helped Freehold Township High School win an NJSIAA sectional title and captured a club national championship with the Marlboro MSA Gunners Blue. He said adapting to the speed and physicality of Division I soccer was difficult at first.
Jerome, who declared a journalism major last week, said he is interested in sports broadcasting as a possible career path.
