PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 13 Rutgers women's soccer opened Big Ten play with a 2-0 shutout of Maryland on Sunday afternoon at Yurcak Field. Redshirt junior goalkeeper
Casey Murphy helped guide the Scarlet Knights to their eighth straight shutout of the year.
"The shutouts start from our front five defending and our defense has been solid and compact, denying all shots and services," said Murphy. "Their mentality is to deny everything and give the other team nothing. It comes from our coaching staff instilling those details and habits in our training every day."Â
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RU improved to an overall record of 7-0-1 and a conference mark of 1-0-0. The Scarlet Knights handed UMD its first loss of the season as the Terrapins fell to 6-1-1 overall and 0-1-0 in league action.
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Senior
Colby Ciarrocca added a goal for Rutgers, while freshman
Amirah Ali contributed the assist. RU's first goal was an own goal by UMD.
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Defensively, Murphy, the United Soccer Coaches National Division I Women's Player of the Week entering this weekend, stayed strong in net with four saves.
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The Scarlet Knights and Terps were neck-in-neck throughout the first half, as the teams tied with four shots and three corner kicks each. Murphy and UMD's goalkeeper Rachel Egyed put in work in net as they each had one and two saves, respectively, knotting the score 0-0 at halftime. Â
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In the 65
th minute, a cross by freshman forward
Alexa Ferreira would result in a UMD block turning into an own goal for the Terps. The goal gave Rutgers a 1-0 edge in the game.
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Ciarrocca would cushion the lead with a goal in the 74
th minute. After Ciarrocca fed the ball to Ali about three yards out, Ali would pass it back out to Ciarrocca with the back of her heel. Ciarrocca remained hot on the attack to score and set the RU lead at 2-0.
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Murphy would record her fourth save of the contest in the 89
th minute to seal the shutout.
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Up next, Rutgers continues conference action on the road with trips to Northwestern on Friday, Sept. 22 and Illinois on Sunday, Sept. 24.
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KNIGHT NOTES
- Rutgers has posted eight straight shutouts to open the season, marking 740:00 scoreless minutes for its opponents.
- Dating back to 1993, the Scarlet Knights are 13-9-3 in respective conference openers.
- Rutgers improved to 6-0-0 at home this season. Dating back to 2006, RU holds a record of 98-17-12 at Yurcak Field.
- Casey Murphy moved her career shutout total to 37, ranking second on the Rutgers careers record list. She maintained a flawless 0.00 GAA on the season with 25 total saves.
- Colby Ciarrocca added her fifth goal of the season, as she leads the team with 12 total points.
- Amirah Ali contributed the second assist of her career, sitting at second on the team with 10 points this year.
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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.
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