Rutgers Closes Regular-Season With 2-0 Win Over DePaul

Sunday, October 26

Chicago, Ill.

TBA

Rutgers University

Depaul

Rutgers Closes Regular-Season With 2-0 Win Over DePaul

Oct 26 | Women's Soccer

CHICAGO, Ill. – On a blustery Sunday afternoon in Chicago, Ill., senior Kristen Edmonds (Metuchen, N.J.) tallied a goal and an assist as the Rutgers women’s soccer team (12-5-1, 7-3-1 BIG EAST) earned a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Championship with a 2-0 win over DePaul (4-15, 2-9 BIG EAST). The Scarlet Knights finish third in the National Division and will travel to Milwaukee, Wisc., to take on Marquette in the conference tournament quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 2.

Rutgers opened the scoring in the 14^th minute. Edmonds took a shot from 20-yards out on the right side that DPU keeper Kelsey Hoinkes stopped. But Hoinkes couldn’t hold on to the ball and senior Alicia Hall (Port Republic, N.J.) pounced and scored from a yard away. For Hall it was her sixth goal of the season and the 18^th of her career, putting her in a tie for ninth-place on the RU all-time scoring list. Edmonds tied her career-high with her sixth assist of the season. RU took that 1-0 lead into halftime.

RU had a great opportunity to increase its lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Edmonds started a counter-attack by sending the ball up to junior Kristie Lang (East Brunswick, N.J.). Lang found a streaking Ashley Jones (Feasterville, Pa.) up the middle of the field, but Hoinkes stopped the sophomore’s 10-yard shot. Off a free kick with 27 minutes to play, the ball made it to senior Courtney Roarty (Edison, N.J.) on the left side of the box. She sent a perfect cross into the front of the goal, but Lang’s header was saved by Hoinkes.

With 12 minutes remaining, off a failed clear, junior Gina DeMaio (Parsippany, N.J.) sent a through-ball to Edmonds on the right side of the goal, giving the senior a one-on-one with the DPU goalkeeper. But Hoinkes was up to the task again and recorded the save.

Finally, with 2:46 remaining, Rutgers put the game out of reach. DeMaio sent a pass up the middle to a streaking Edmonds. The senior was taken down in the box, prompting a penalty kick. Edmonds made good, giving RU a 2-0 lead. Junior goalkeeper Erin Guthrie (Sparta, N.J.) made several key plays to preserve the shutout, her eighth of the season and the 32^nd of her career.

With the win, Rutgers earns a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Championship as the third seed in the National Division. The Scarlet Knights return to action on Sunday, Nov. 2, at American Division second-seed Marquette.

GAME NOTES:

With the win and Georgetown’s 1-0 overtime win against Cincinnati, Rutgers finishes as the third-seed in the National Division and earns a first round bye in the BIG EAST Championship.

Rutgers shut out its ninth opponent of the season, and its eighth BIG EAST foe.

Junior goalkeeper Erin Guthrie (Sparta, N.J.) recorded her seventh shutout of the season and the 32^nd shutout of her career. She is two away from tying Saskia Webber for first-place on Rutgers’ all-time clean-sheets list.

Senior Alicia Hall (Port Republic, N.J.) recorded her sixth goal of the season and the 18^th of her career. She moves into a tie for ninth-place on the RU all-time scoring list.

Senior Kristen Edmonds (Metuchen, N.J.) finished with a goal and an assist, giving her five scores and six helpers on the season. She ties her career-high in assists, a mark she previously set in 2005.