PISCATAWAY, N.J. – On a rainy Thursday afternoon, senior forward
Amirah Ali netted two goals to lift No. 21 Rutgers women's soccer (5-1-1, 5-1-1 Big Ten) to victory over Iowa (0-6-1, 0-6-1 Big Ten) at Yurcak Field. Sophomore
Allison Lynch, and freshmen
Giana Romano,
Julianne Leskauskas and
Becci Fluchel added assists, while goalkeeper
Meagan McClelland collected seven saves in the win.
"Today's win was a great team effort given the conditions," said senior captain
Gabby Provenzano. "The two goals we scored were great team goals and finishes by Amirah. We came out very strong which was key for our success. Meag made some key saves for us down the stretch. Overall, I feel like we have been pretty successful these first few games. We are capitalizing on our chances and need to focus on the details that will continue to make us more successful going forward."
"Today was a great win. Even with the weather, I felt like we did a good job keeping possession and capitalizing off our chances," said Ali. "Overall, these first games of the year have been pretty successful for us. I feel like we are producing well and building our team chemistry to continue to keep the ball rolling."
The Scarlet Knights and Hawkeyes traded shots throughout the start of the game, as McClelland recorded three saves to keep it a scoreless contest.
In the 39th minute, Ali put Rutgers on the board first. Romano sent up a pass from midfield up to Lynch at the right of the box. Lynch crossed to Ali who used one touch to send in the score and give RU a 1-0 lead.
With less than three minutes to go until halftime, Ali added her second of the game to extend the Scarlet Knight advantage to 2-0. A corner kick sent in from Fluchel was directed by freshman
Julianne Leskauskas to Ali for the goal.
Moments into the second half, Iowa found an attempt on goal. McClelland denied the shot with an incredible save to keep the Rutgers lead at 2-0.
In the 83rd minute, a hand ball would lead to an Iowa penalty kick to set the score at 2-1. McClelland held strong through the final minutes of the game, recording her seventh save of the day in the 88th minute to secure the victory for RU.
- Amirah Ali matched her career high with two goals, marking the fifth multi-goal game of her career.
- Ali brought her career total to 30 goals, ranking fifth all-time on Rutgers' charts. The MAC Hermann Trophy candidate moved up to fifth all-time in career points as well with 72 total points.
- Allison Lynch and Becci Fluchel each recorded the second assist of their careers, while Giana Romano added her first.
- Ten different Scarlet Knights have contributed to scoring this season for Rutgers.
Rutgers remains home to host Minnesota on Sunday, March 21. Start time is set for 12 p.m. at Yurcak Field.
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