PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Following 110 scoreless minutes of play between No. 25 Rutgers women's soccer and No. 11 Penn State, the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal would enter a shootout on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Yurcak Field. However, the Scarlet Knights would fall in the sixth round of the shootout, as the Nittany Lions took the win, 4-3.
"I knew it was going to be a hard game," said head coach Mike O'Neill. "We have a really good rivalry with Penn State and all the games are very, very close. We expected it to be a tough match and close match.
"In the end, it was a game that we didn't play they way that we needed to play, but we still gave ourselves a chance in the end because of one of the greatest displays of goalkeeping I have seen. We are never there if it isn't for how hard the team works, how good at the details they are and having one of the best goalkeepers in the country."
Rutgers (12-2-5, 6-2-3 Big Ten) and Penn State (10-4-4, 6-2-3 Big Ten) battled through the pouring rain, trading possession back-and-forth. Both defenses would force failed attempts as the Scarlet Knights and Nittany Lions remained locked at 0-0 after the two overtime periods.
In the first period, Rutgers rattled off five shots, three of which were on goal, as the Scarlet Knight defense kept the Nittany Lions from finding the back of the net as well. Moving into the second half, PSU brought the pressure, but redshirt junior Casey Murphy, the 2017 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, would register five saves to extend the game to overtime.
Murphy would register two saves in the second overtime, finishing one shy of her career-high with seven saves overall, to send the match to penalty kicks.
After the second round of PK's saw RU trailing, 2-1, the Scarlet Knights tied things up with a successful attempt by sophomore midfielder Nicole Whitley and a stop by Murphy in the third. However, in the fourth round, PSU's goalkeeper Rose Chandler would respond with a stop of her own followed by a successful attempt for teammate Marissa Sheva.
Freshman forward Amirah Ali, the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, found the back of the net on her turn to even the count, 3-3. Murphy kept it that way with another stop, but it was not enough as PSU would come out with the edge, 4-3, in the sixth round to advance.
Rutgers awaits selection for the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. The show is set to air on Monday, Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Casey Murphy picked up her 15th shutout of the season. The clean sheet moved her into a tie for the all-time lead in the Rutgers record books with 44 shutouts. She sits in first place with former Scarlet Knight Erin Guthrie who also registered 44 shutouts in her career from 2006-09.
- Rutgers competed in its fourth-straight Big Ten Tournament since joining the league in 2014. The Scarlet Knights moved to 4-3-1 all-time in Big Ten Tournament play. Last season, Rutgers fell in the championship match to Minnesota, its second straight appearance in the final.
- Rutgers moved to a record of 3-0-3 against ranked opponents this season. Murphy and the defense recorded six shutouts in the ranked matchups.
- The Scarlet Knights entered its first shootout since 2015, when Rutgers upset No. 1 Virginia in penalty kicks, 7-6, to advance to the program's first ever appearance in the NCAA Women's College Cup Semifinals.
- With an NCAA bid on Monday, Nov. 6, the program will head to the national tournament for its sixth-straight year and eighth time in the last 10 seasons.
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