Rutgers' BIG EAST Tournament Ends in Penalty Kicks
Oct 30 | Women's Soccer
STORRS, CT - The Rutgers women's soccer team (10-9-2, 5-6 BIG EAST) fought back to force overtime, but was edged out on penalty kicks (4-2) at No. 14 Connecticut (14-3-2, 10-1 BIG EAST) in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals Oct. 30.
The Huskies struck first, as Brittany Tegeler looped a shot over the RU defenders' heads and into the goal in the 16th minute.
But, the Scarlet Knights evened the match in dramatic fashion, when Rutgers was awarded a penalty kick with seven seconds remaining. Senior tri-captain Zoe Avner (Paris, France) stepped up and drilled home the PK, her fifth such goal of the season, to send the contest into overtime.
Rutgers had several quality chances late in regulation and early in overtime, but after two scoreless 'sudden victory' overtime periods, the teams lined up for penalty kicks. Kathleen Frank led off for UConn and scored, which was followed by a Domenique Esposito (Rivervale, NJ) goal to the bottom-left corner of the goal. Brittany Taylor converted the second PK for UConn, despite RU keeper Nora Crawford (McLean, VA) getting her hands on the ball. Sophomore Amanda Allessio's (Langhorne, PA) shot was wide right on the second Rutgers attempt, but the Huskies' Niki Cross also missed to the right, keeping the Scarlet Knights within reach. Avner's successful attempt was followed by a Meghan Schnur score to the middle of the goal. A miss by Kristen Edmonds (Metuchen, NJ), followed by a goal from Jennifer Sullivan, gave UConn an insurmountable 4-2 advantage.
Crawford made five saves in goal, as Rutgers' streaks of six consecutive victories and five straight shutouts were snapped by the tie at Connecticut. The two teams were evenly matched, as each side had five corner kicks and the Huskies had just one more shot (11-10) than the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers was the fourth-seeded team in Division B, while UConn was the top seed in Division A. The Huskies were ranked 14th by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), seventh by Soccer America, seventh by Soccerbuzz and 12th by SoccerTimes.com in this week's national polls (Oct. 24). UConn also was picked first in the Northeast Region by Soccerbuzz and second by the NSCAA.
'Again, we had a plan, and the execution by our team was fantastic,' said sixth-year Rutgers head coach Glenn Crooks. 'We started off a bit sluggish, which I'm sure was some nerves. UConn scored early, but from that point on, we settled in. From an attacking standpoint, winning the ball and getting opportunities, we were very good from the 20-minute point on. Connecticut is a very good team. We certainly deserved the tie, and we had excellent chances to win. When you get to PKs, it's 50-50. Nora guessed right twice, and got her hands on the one, but it just trickled off her fingers and into the goal.
'I'm so proud of this team. We really couldn't be more proud as a staff by how this team turned things around. It didn't take that much, because we were playing well throughout the season. Nora really came on, our backs did a tremendous job, and we started finishing opportunities. These last few weeks have really been great for us.'
Rutgers, 10-9-2 with the tie at UConn, will now await the announcement of the 64-team field for the 2005 NCAA Tournament, which will be released the week of Nov. 7.
Rutgers 1, No. 14 Connecticut 1
Double Overtime; UConn advances on penalty kicks, 4-2
Women's Soccer BIG EAST Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Sunday, Oct. 30; Storrs, CT
Rutgers 0 1 0 0 1
Connecticut 1 0 0 0 1
Shots: RU 10, UC 11. Saves: RU 6 (Nora Crawford 5, Team 1), UC 5 (Stephanie Labbe 5, Megan Jessee 0). Fouls: RU 12, UC 18. Corner Kicks: RU 5, UC 5. Offsides: RU 4, UC 8. Cards: RU 0, UC 0.
Team Time Goal Assist
UC 15:59 Brittany Tegeler Jennifer Sullivan
RU 89:53 Zoe Avner (5)
