PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 4 Rutgers women's soccer advanced to the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Championship game, defeating Iowa by a score of 2-0 in Thursday afternoon's semifinal match at Yurcak Field. Sophomore
Allison Lowrey and senior
Amirah Ali recorded goals for the Scarlet Knights, as freshman
Riley Tiernan added an assist. The Scarlet Knights picked up their fifth straight shutout and 11th overall this season, extending the program record to 13 straight victories.
Following a first half that saw both team's knotted at 0-0 with two shots apiece, senior goalkeeper
Meagan McClelland recorded back-to-back saves to keep it a scoreless match.
Rutgers responded on offense with back-to-back shots of its own. In the 66
th minute, Lowrey found the back of the net for the Scarlet Knights. Tiernan took on two defenders inside the 18-yard box, crossing to Lowrey at the opposite corner of the box. Lowrey fired a shot to the far post to give RU a 1-0 lead.
After two consecutive RU shots were saved by Iowa's keeper with seconds of each otherin the 78th minute, Ali went on to cushion shortly after. Driving into the box, Ali evaded two defenders, hooking the goal into the right upper 90. The goal marked the 100th career point for Ali, moving into third all-time on the Rutgers career charts.
The Scarlet Knights held the Hawkeyes to just four total shots in the second half and six overall in the match to seal the clean sheet. Rutgers advances to its third Big Ten Championship game since joining the league and first since 2016.
Rutgers will meet the winner of the semifinal game featuring Michigan and Purdue on Sunday, Nov. 7 for the final. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at Yurcak Field live on Big Ten Network.
Follow Rutgers women's soccer on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for
Apple or
Android today.
- RU -
