ANN ARBOR, MICH. –  Wrapping up the regular season with its third straight game on the road, No. 24 Rutgers women's soccer (6-2-3, 6-2-3 Big Ten) played to a 1-1, double-overtime draw at Michigan (5-3-3, 5-3-3 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.
Â
Senior forward
Nneka Moneme scored the equalizer in the 88th minute off of an assist from freshman
Becci Fluchel. In net, junior
Meagan McClelland recorded three saves for the Scarlet Knights.
Â
Rutgers and Michigan played through a scoreless first half. Although the Wolverines led in shots, 7-4, the RU defense forced off target attempts and McClelland reeled in three saves. The Scarlet Knights in turn found three shots on goal, but the score remained 0-0 entering the break.
Â
Moving into the second half, Rutgers quickly recorded back-to-back shots on goal. However, the attempts would be saved by Michigan's goalkeeper. In the 60th minute, UM found the back of the net first to take a 1-0 edge in the contest. Rutgers never let up, recording two more shots on goal and holding Michigan to two off target attempts.
Â
With less than two minutes to go in the game,
Nneka Moneme scored the equalizer for the Scarlet Knights. Moneme sent in a header off a corner kick from Fluchel to tie the score at 1-1 and send the contest into overtime.
Â
Â
Both defenses held strong throughout the two overtime periods. In the 101st minute, freshman
Sam Kroeger found a chance on goal, sending in a strong shot that would ultimately be saved by UM's keeper. The Scarlet Knights and Wolverines ended the game tied, 1-1, as RU moved to a mark of 0-1-3 in overtime contests this season.
Â
Rutgers awaits seeding for the 2021 Big Ten Tournament. A wildcard weekend is set for April 8-11 with the semifinals and finals taking place the weekend of April 15-18.
Â
- Rutgers concludes the regular season with a record of 6-2-3 overall, including a undefeated 5-0 record at home.
- The Scarlet Knights have held all 11Â Big Ten opponents to single-digit shots on goal, holding the Wolverines to just four.
- Dating back to 2016, Rutgers is 15-3-20 in its last 38 overtime contests, including a mark of 0-1-3 in four overtime games this season.
- Nneka Moneme added her second goal of the season and 18th of her career.
- Becci Fluchel added the third assist of her young career.
- Rutgers has been ranked in all five polls of the 2021 spring season. Michigan was receiving votes in this week's poll.Â
Â
Follow Rutgers women's soccer on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for
Apple or
Android today.
Â
- RU -