STATE COLLEGE, PA.  – No. 21 Rutgers women's soccer suffered its first loss of Big Ten play, dropping a tight, 1-0 decision at Penn State on Sunday afternoon. It snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak in conference action for the Scarlet Knights this season.
 
RU moved to a record of 9-2-5 overall and a 5-1-3 in the league, while PSU improved to 11-5-0 overall and 7-2-0 in the conference.
 
QUICK STATS
Freshman goalkeeper Meagan McClelland was one shy of her career-best with four saves in the match, allowing only the fifth goal to a Big Ten opponent across 920:05 minutes of play. Junior midfielder Taylor Aylmer led RU with a shot on goal, as six Scarlet Knights added multiple shots in the match.
 
THE MATCH
Rutgers and Penn State entered a tight, defensive battle through the first half, entering halftime locked at 0-0. Although the Nittany Lions led shots, 7-2, the Scarlet Knights forced off-target attempts and McClelland recorded two saves in the stanza.
 
Penn State opened the second half on the attack. In the 48th minute, Marissa Sheva net a goal for PSU, finishing on a through ball from Frankie Tagliaferri with a shot to the left post past a diving McClelland. 
 
RU responded by reclaiming possession and rattling off three consecutive shots. The PSU defensive, however, held tight with three consecutive blocks. McClelland backed the offense with a tremendous save on the Nittany Lions' return possession down the field to keep it a 1-0 game. 
 
On a setpiece in the 83rd minute, senior back Madison Pogarch sent it in from the left corner of the 18-yard box, as senior defender Amanda Visco's shot would go just wide. Seconds later, Alymer kept the RU attack strong with another RU change, but PSU denied the shot. 
 
Rutgers chances, ultiamtely, would fall short, as Penn State snuck away with just the second win over the Scarlet Knight squad this season.

UP NEXT 
Rutgers wraps a three-game road swing with a stop at Michigan State on Thursday, Oct. 18. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. ET in East Lansing. 
 
KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers opened Big Ten play unbeaten in eight straight games (5-0-3), marking the best start in program history since 2006 when RU started BIG EAST play with six unbeaten matches (5-0-1).
• Rutgers allowed just its fifth goal in Big Ten play across 920:05 minutes of play, including eight straight overtime contests in conference play.
• The Scarlet Knights were outshot for only the second time this season, holding a record of 1-1 in those contests.
• The game snapped a nine-game streak of overtime contests for RU, the longest stretch in program history. 
• RU moved to a record of 3-1-2 overall on the road, including a 2-1-2 in conference play.

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