PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 6 Rutgers women's soccer shut out Wisconsin in a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Sophomore
Sara Brocious scored the lone goal to give the Scarlet Knights a program-record 12th straight victory. In net, senior goalkeeper
Meagan McClelland notched a season-high seven saves for RU's 10th shutout of the season.
"This one was a really good game. Two good teams. It was a great goal by Sara Brocious. We created a lot of chances, and their keeper made some good saves. We'll figure out how we can be more efficient with the chances that we create. Defensively, we did a really good job and then we needed Meagan McClelland to make the big saves and that's what she did. There's nothing like playoff soccer and it was a great full team win at home. Thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting the team," said Head Coach Mike O'Neill.
Brocious recorded her fourth goal of the season to go with five assists for a total of 13 points. McClelland has posted 49 saves on the season, picking up her sixth clean sheet against a Big Ten opponent on the year. Rutgers led in shots (21-11) and shots on goal (11-7) in the battle.
The Scarlet Knight attack came out strong as senior forward
Amirah Ali posted the first shot of the match just seconds in. Wisconsin's goalkeeper would make her first of six saves in the frame.
In the 33rd minute, Rutgers found its break through. Senior midfielder
Frankie Tagliaferri sent in a pass to Brocious. Brocious from about six yards out, shot to the center of the net. Though, the keeper made a stop, she took the rebound to score for a 1-0 advantage.
McClelland would notch a save, backed by three more RU shots on goal across the final minutes of the first half to take the 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Scarlet Knights maintained their momentum on offense, opening the second half with three straight shots. The team went on to add a string of four more consecutive shots on goal in the 63rd minute.
McClelland held strong in net for the Scarlet Knights, recording three consecutive saves in the 70th minute to keep Rutgers in the lead. The senior keeper notched a total of five saves in the final frame to seal the victory for the Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights advance to their third straight Big Ten semifinal. Top-seed Rutgers will match up with fifth-seed Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 4 in a semifinal contest home at Yurcak Field.
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