Rutgers Women's Soccer Drops Cincinnati, 2-1
Oct 22 | Women's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 22, 2010) – Rutgers women’s soccer defeated Cincinnati, 2-1, Friday night at Yurcak Field. With the win and a Louisville loss, RU (9-8-1, 4-5-1) secured a bid in their 11th-straight BIG EAST Championship next weekend.
“We are satisfied with the three points,” said head coach Glenn Crooks. “This was very important for us. The starting unit came out on fire. We were as good as we’ve been all year in the first 25 minutes of the match.”
The Scarlet Knight got on the board in the 12th minute, as redshirt junior Tricia DiPaolo (Sparta, N.J.) had a shot blocked at the top of the box that redshirt senior Gina DeMaio (Parsippany, N.J.) rebounded. The captain made a move to her left, beat a defender and buried the ball into the top right of the net.
RU added to the score three minutes later, as redshirt junior Karla Schacher (Tofield, Alberta) crossed the ball to DiPaolo right in front of the net. The midfielder used the back of her foot to knock the ball past UC netminder Ashley Daniels for the second score of the match.
Fighting to stay alive in the BIG EAST Tournament race, Cincinnati (8-9-1, 2-8-0) scored in the 86th minute on a Kelli Pawelko corner. With even the UC netminder in the box, Liz Miller deflected the ball into the net past freshman goalkeeper Samantha Perretty (Parkland, Fla.) to put the Bearcats within one.
Rutgers came out aggressive, taking seven shots in the first 10 minutes. The best early opportunity for the Scarlet Knights came in the ninth minute from senior Kelsey Dumont (Wrightstown, Pa.)¸ getting her first start as a Scarlet Knight. The forward corralled a pass from Schacher and hit the crossbar with her left foot.
DeMaio nearly connected again in the 53rd minute, pushing the ball just high of the net from the top of the box. Senior Ashley Jones (Feasterville, Pa.) sent a breakaway shot just wide three minutes later.
In front of the net in the 61st minute, redshirt sophomore April Price (Mechanicsville, Va.) headed a DeMaio cross towards the goal, but it nicked the crossbar and flew over. Price connected in the 83rd minute, but the goal was called back on a late offside call.
Redshirt sophomore Emmy Simpkins (Concord, N.C.) earned the nod in net grabbing one save and not allowing a goal. Perretty saw 45 minutes of action in the second stanza, allowing one goal while making three saves, including pushing a potential game-tying shot wide in the 87th minute.
The Scarlet Knights wrap up the regular season Sunday, Oct. 24 against Louisville. Kickoff for Senior Day is set for 1 p.m.
Game Notes
*RU raised over $1800 on “We R BC Fighters” night to help the fight against breast cancer as part of their yearly community service project.
*Kelsey Dumont earned her first career start.
*Rutgers had not scored two goals in the first half since Stony Brook (Aug. 20).
*Gina DeMaio notched her first goal since Stony Brook. The goal gives her 54 points for her career, two away from Shannon Nagle in eighth place in the RU record book.
*Tricia DiPaolo scored her first goal since Washington (Sept. 12), second of her career. Both of her tallies this season have been game-winners.
*The Scarlet Knights notched 26 shots on the night, the second highest total all season.
