MORGANTOWN, W.VA. – The No. 22 Rutgers women's soccer team battled No. 7 West Virginia to a 0-0 double overtime draw in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Friday night. Despite the stellar performance of the RU defense, the Scarlet Knights dropped a heartbreaking round of penalty kicks to the Mountaineers, 4-3.
 
"I'd like to thank the NCAA and West Virginia for the organization of the weekend," said head coach Mike O'Neill. "I'd like to congratulate West Virginia on the victory tonight. Tough game, tough way to lose, penalties. I'm so proud of my team. Everything that they do every day – they come out every day, they get better, they work hard. I'm really proud of them for having a really good year."
 
"I'd like to thank my staff for their hard work and their commitment. I feel very blessed to be working with such good people. I'd like to thank the University and everybody at home – fans, alumni, and our families for their commitment. Success is not possible without them. Again, it was a good match, and I wish West Virginia the best of luck on Sunday."
 
With six saves in the match, redshirt junior Casey Murphy became Rutgers all-time career shutout leader with 45 shutouts. Overall, Murphy and the Scarlet Knight back line posted 16 shutouts on the year, three shy of the program record set in 2015.
 
Throughout the first half of the match, the Rutgers (13-2-6) defense held back a stout West Virginia (16-3-3) offensive attack. Despite WVU leading RU in shots, 6-0, the Scarlet Knights held the Mountaineers to just two on goal. And Murphy was there to make two tremendous saves on both attempts, knotting the score at 0-0 heading into halftime.
 
The Rutgers offense found a surge to put pressure on in the second half, but the contest remained a defensive battle. In the 82^nd minute, freshman forward Amirah Ali found RU's best chance. The rookie took a shot off a deflection from a defender from about five yards out right on target for the top center of the net. However, WVU's goalkeeper Rylee Foster jumped and stretched high to make the save.
 
The game would extend into extra time. However, the score remained deadlocked through the two overtime periods, as the Scarlet Knight defense stayed bulletproof against a relentless Mountaineer offense. Additionally, RU discovered a couple offensive pushes, but the teams saw the contest move into the deciding penalty kicks.
 
WVU took an early 1-0 edge in the first round of the shootout, before a save by Murphy and a successful attempt by Ali tied things up, 1-1, in the second. The teams went tit-for-tat across the following two rounds with a 3-3 mark headed into the fifth. However, it would be the Mountaineers that came out with a 4-3 edge to advance.
 
The Scarlet Knights will bid farewell to five seniors – Colby Ciarrocca, Christy Monroy, Casey Murphy, Courtney Norton and Brianna Scarola. A group that, among many accomplishments, guided RU to its first ever College Cup in 2015. A group that has raised the standard of Rutgers women's soccer during their time "On the Banks." 
 
"To our seniors, which is always the hard part because we have to say goodbye," said O'Neill. "I want to thank them for their character, their talent and their commitment to the culture, and getting better every day. We talk about when you come to Rutgers, the idea at the end is to make sure that it's a better place because you were here. We're better because they came, and their commitment to making us one of the top programs in the country to play."'

KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers ended its season with an overall record of 13-2-6.
• It marked Rutgers sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, eighth in the last 10 years and 12th all time.
• RU owns a mark of 12-9-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.
• The shutout marked Rutgers' 16th clean sheet of the season, as Murphy and the back line only allowed six goals in 21 contest this season
• Rutgers remaine unbeaten in all overtime contests as well as ranked matchups this season. RU played in eight overtime contests this year, tallying a record of 3-0-5 in those matches. The Scarlet Knights posted a record of 3-0-4 in ranked matchups on the season.
• Casey Murphy became the Rutgers all-time career shutout leader with 45 clean sheets in just three seasons in net. Murphy surpasses former Scarlet Knight Erin Guthrie who posted 44 shutouts from 2006-09.
• Among numerous accomplishments, the senior class led the program to four straight NCAA Tournaments, including the historic run to the College Cup in 2015. 

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