Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 20, 2009) – The Rutgers women’s soccer team ascended to No. 9 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll after a 2-0 weekend in BIG EAST play. The No. 9 ranking is the highest in program history, surpassing the Scarlet Knights’ previous mark of No. 10 in the nation.
For the past two weeks, RU sat at No. 10 in the NSCAA Poll. Rutgers defeated Marquette (3-1) and knotted with USF (0-0) before breaking into the top ten for the first time in program history. RU then went on to lose a hard-fought contest to then-No.8/9 Notre Dame, 1-0, and upended DePaul, 2-1, in an emotional overtime match. This weekend, the squad shut out Syracuse and RV/18 St. John’s to move to 12-2-3 overall, 7-1-2 in the BIG EAST. The Scarlet Knights began the season at No. 20 in the coaches’ poll.
RU also rose to No. 15 in the Soccer America rankings. Last week, the Scarlet Knights stood at 19th, falling seven spots from No. 12. Rutgers rose to as high as No. 11 in week three after defeating Towson and then-ranked No. 13/10 Penn State. Rutgers started the season at 21 in the Soccer America Poll.
On Thursday, RU defeated Syracuse, 2-0, at Yurcak Field. Redshirt junior Karla Schacher (Tofield, Alberta) found the net in the 59th minute against the Orange, rebounding redshirt freshman Stefanee Pace’s (Kearny, N.J.) shot on the SU netminder. Redshirt freshman April Price (Mechanicsville, Va.) scored the insurance goal in the 78th minute off a breakaway pass from freshman Maura McLaughlin (Windsor, N.J.).
Getting the nod on Saturday’s Senior Day, Kristie Lang tallied the game-winner for the Scarlet Knights in the fifth minute of the game against St. John’s. It would be the only offense RU would need, as the squad defeated the Red Storm, 1-0.
RU returns to action this weekend for two road games against Cincinnati and Louisville. The Scarlet Knights take on the Bearcats Friday at 7 p.m. RU will face UofL on Sunday at 1 p.m. Rutgers has already secured a bye in the BIG EAST Tournament that will take place Oct. 29-Nov. 8.
