Nov. 4, 2016 Box Score
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Rutgers women's soccer is headed back to a familiar place: a conference final. The No. 25-ranked Scarlet Knights took down No. 17 Northwestern, 1-0, Friday evening at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, and will play host and No. 8-ranked Minnesota Sunday at 2 p.m. for a Big Ten Conference title.
The win vaulted RU (11-3-6) to its second-straight Big Ten final and third conference championship match in the last four seasons.
"We talk about it every year - we want to compete for championships. We get an opportunity to compete for another one on Sunday," said third-year head coach Mike O'Neill. "We're looking forward to the challenge. We know Minnesota is a very talented team and we're looking forward to a good game. But the coaching staff is so proud of the way the team grinded the game out. When games get close you need to have that passion to win and the ladies showed that today."
It took just seven minutes for the Scarlet Knights to get on the board against the Wildcats, as sophomore defender Kenie Wright orchestrated the Colby Ciarrocca goal from the left flank. Following a throw-in by senior Madison Tiernan, Wright gathered and sent a cross into the box toward Ciarrocca. A miss by the Northwestern defender allowed Ciarrocca to collect possession and tap it past goalkeeper Lauren Clem for a 1-0 lead.
"It was a great ball in by Kenie," Ciarrocca said. "We set our goals to make a Big Ten final and win a Big Ten Championship when we reported for preseason. We're there, so we're one game away - 90 minutes."
Getting to the final was no easy feat. Entering the tournament as the seventh seed, Rutgers took down second-seeded Penn State and No. 3 Northwestern in consecutive games away from Piscataway.
If the Scarlet Knights complete the trifecta and defeat top-seeded Minnesota Sunday, not only will they have defeated all three league regular season co-champions, they would become the first team in conference history to knock off No. 1, 2, and 3 en route to a trophy.
"I'm beyond excited," said senior captain Tori Prager. "I'm so thankful that two years in a row I am going to the finals of the Big Ten. That's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm doing it twice in my career. Even my freshman year we went to the finals of the AAC. This is the year. I have faith in our team, I have faith in our coaching staff, I have faith in the game that this is going to be our year."
Northwestern (14-2-4) made it difficult late, outshooting the Scarlet Knights, 5-1, in the second half and getting close several times in the final 45 minutes. The last play of the match saw the Wildcats Nandi Mehta fire one into the box from midfield, but senior goalkeeper Alana Jimenez sprinted up to secure the ball and Rutgers' win. It was the team's 11th shutout of the year.
The Scarlet Knights will play in their third conference final in four years Sunday against top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Minnesota (15-3-3). RU appeared in the 2013 American Athletic Conference final and last year's Big Ten Conference final. Sunday's contest kicks off at 2 p.m. ET and will air live nationally on Big Ten Network.
RU and Minnesota did not meet on the pitch in 2016. The teams played twice last year during the regular season and in the Big Ten Quarterfinals, as the Scarlet Knights prevailed in both meetings.
A win Sunday would give Rutgers University its first team Big Ten Championship.
"Our team is very confident and we also know that if we want the championship we have to go through the best teams," Prager said. ""I think what's going to be key is pay attentions to the discipline and the details, coming together and rising up together as a team and bringing Rutgers' game and just focusing on ourselves."
GAME NOTES
• Rutgers improved to 58-3-3 since 2008 when leading at halftime.
• RU pulled to 4-0-1 on the year against ranked opponents.
• The win was Rutgers' second over Northwestern this season and knots the all-time series at 2-2.
• Rutgers scored first in a match for the 12th time this season.
• Rutgers is now 4-2 all-time in Big Ten Tournament play. The Scarlet Knights will play in the final for the second-straight year.
• The clean sheet was the 10th of the season for Jimenez and 11th for RU as a team.
• The Scarlet Knights have posted at least 11 clean sheets in five-straight seasons dating back to 2012.
• Ciarrocca scored her sixth goal to improve her points total to 16.
• Wright's assist was her first point this season.
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