No. 9 WSOC Embarks on Quest For College Cup
Dec 02 | Women's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 9 Rutgers women's soccer embarks on its first NCAA College Cup trip this weekend in Cary, N.C. The Scarlet Knights face the No. 6-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions for the third time this season at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 at WakeMed Soccer Park. The winner will advance to the 2015 College Cup Final and play for a national championship against No. 2 Florida State or No. 20 Duke.
| College Cup Semifinals No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions (20-3-2, 8-2-1 Big Ten Conference) | |
| Date | Friday, Dec. 4 |
| Time | 5 p.m. EST |
| Location | Cary, N.C. | WakeMed Soccer Park |
| TV (Talent) | ESPNU (Glenn Davis, Julie Foudy) |
| Live Stream | WatchESPN |
| Live Stats | |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Penn State |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Penn State |
| NCAA Bracket | Click Here |
| Tickets | Click Here |
College Cup Information
The 34th annual NCAA Women's College Cup will be played on Dec. 4 and Dec. 6 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with Campbell University and the Town of Cary serving as co-hosts. The first national semifinal will be played and shown live on ESPNU at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 4. The second semifinal will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. The national championship match will take place at Noon ET on Sunday, Dec. 6 and will also broadcast live on ESPNU.
The trip to the College Cup is the first for Rutgers in its history and fifth all-time for Penn State.
Rutgers Quick Kicks
- Rutgers (19-3-3) and PSU split the season series, 1-1. RU topped the Nittany Lions in the regular season and lost in the Big Ten Championship match.
- RU secured the College Cup berth with a 7-6 PK shootout victory at No. 1 Virginia, converting seven-straight attempts after missing the first two.
- The Scarlet Knights earned a No. 2 seed for the 2015 NCAA Tournament and picked up home wins against Fairleigh Dickinson (Nov. 13), Hofstra (Nov. 20), and No. 18 UConn (Nov. 22) through the first three rounds of the tournament before a scoreless draw at UVA (Nov. 27).
- Rutgers' student radio, WRSU 88.7 FM, will be on hand to call the action live from WakeMed Park.
- With 19 wins, the Scarlet Knights have set the new program record for wins in a season, passing the 2006 squad (16-3-4).
- The Scarlet Knights are ranked by the NSCAA (No. 9), Soccer America (No. 9), and TopDrawerSoccer.com (No. 3). The No. 3 ranking by TDS is the highest in program history.
- RU's defensive numbers remain among the best in the nation. Entering the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, the Scarlet Knights are first in shutout percentage (.760), first in total shutouts (19), first in goals-against average (0.31), and second in save percentage (.910).
- Rutgers' 19 shutouts are tied for seventh all-time in NCAA history in a single-season.
- The Scarlet Knights have allowed just eight goals in 25 matches played, with four coming in two matches.
- Rutgers started the year with eight consecutive clean sheets for the first time in program history, posting a program record scoreless streak of 760:16 minutes.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Casey Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J.) has 29 shutouts for her career, third on the program's all-time list.
- With 19 shutouts this season, Murphy surpassed Erin Guthrie (2006) for the most in a single season by an RU goalkeeper.
- Senior midfielder Hayley Katkowski (Westford, Mass.) has started 89 consecutive matches and is tied for third on Rutgers' all-time list for starts in a career.
- Senior center back Erica Skroski (Galloway, N.J.) has logged the full time in 23 of 25 matches. She scored the game-winner vs. Minnesota in the Big Ten quarters and made a save before the half to preserve the RU lead.
Scouting Penn State
- Penn State's path to the College Cup featured a 5-0 win vs. Albany (Nov. 13), a 6-0 victory over Boston University (Nov. 20), a 4-0 win vs. Ohio State (Nov. 22) and a 2-0 victory over No. 4 West Virginia (Nov. 28).
- Leading Penn State's attack this season are Megan Schafer (13g, 3a) and Frannie Crouse (10g, 7a).
- PSU is coached by ninth-year head coach Erica Walsh, who is 155-50-10 in her career with the Nittany Lions.
- Britt Eckerstrom is the goalkeeper for Penn State, and she has a 20-3-2 record, 0.49 goals-against average, and .842 save percentage.
- Like Rutgers, Penn State has yet to surrender a goal in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
- With two Big Ten teams matching up in the semifinal, the conference is guaranteed to have a representative in the 2015 College Cup Final.
- Penn State, the 2015 Big Ten Champions, opened the year ranked No. 6 in the nation in the NSCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
All-time Series vs. the Nittany Lions
- Rutgers is 5-8-1 all-time against the Nittany Lions. Prior to the 2-0 Big Ten Championship loss to PSU on Nov. 8, Rutgers had won four-straight matches against their new league rival, with two coming at Yurcak Field and two coming at Jeffrey Field.
Going Dancing
- The Scarlet Knights qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, sixth time in the last eight years, and 10th time overall in 2015. RU won its first round NCAA Tourney game in consecutive seasons for the second time in program history.
- All-time the Scarlet Knights are 10-7-5 in NCAA Tournament action. Rutgers won all three of its home matches this postseason and is 6-0-2 all-time at Yurcak Field in NCAA Tourney contests.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (Rutgers Athletics ) and Twitter (@RUAthletics ) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers women's soccer, follow the program on Facebook (Rutgers Women's Soccer ), Twitter (@RUWSoccer ) and Instagram (@RUWSoccer). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com .
