BUIS CREEK, N.C. – Behind by one goal with around five minutes to go, freshman forward Allison Lowrey notched the equalizer in the 85th minute to balance the score between Rutgers women's soccer and No. 6 Clemson in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening. The contest would end in a 1-1, double-overtime draw, sending the Scarlet Knights and Tigers to a penalty kick shootout. In the end, Clemson would advance with a 5-3 edge in PKs.
 
Rutgers caps the season with a record of 9-3-4 overall and a 6-2-3 mark in Big Ten play. Eleven different Scarlet Knights contributed to scoring this season, as Lowrey added her second goal of the year and fellow freshman back Emma Misal added her first career assist. Junior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland recorded three saves in the draw, as RU held CU to just four shots on goal across the 110 minutes.
 
THE MATCH
Rutgers and Clemson traded opportunities in the first half, as the Tigers held an edge in shots (5-3) while the Scarlet Knights led in corner kicks (3-1). Clemson, however, found the back of the net first in the 27th minute to carry a 1-0 advantage into the break.
 
Returning from halftime, Rutgers came out strong offensively, stringing together several shots in a row at the start of the frame. Though Clemson saved two of the attempts, McClelland responded with a save of her own to keep the margin at 1-0.
 
In the 85th minute, Lowrey came up big for the Scarlet Knights. Misal sent in a pass that Lowrey headed in to the far post for the score, tying it up, 1-1, with minutes to go.
 
Clemson countered on the attack, however, Rutgers held its momentum to keep the score knotted and push to overtime.
 
Freshman Julianne Leskaukas opened the first overtime period with back-to-back shots for RU, hitting the cross bar with the second attempt in the 95th minute. The Scarlet Knights allowed no Tiger shots in the frame, pushing to game into a second overtime.
 
Another shot from Leskauskas would be saved in the final seconds of the match to send the contest to a penalty kick shootout. Ultimately, the Tigers edged out a 5-3 advantage in PKs to advance.
 
KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers earned a bid to its ninth straight NCAA Tournament, 11^th in the last 13 seasons, and 15^th time overall.
• The Scarlet Knights advanced to the Second Round for the first time since 2017.
• RU moved to a record of 13-10-7 overall in the NCAA Tournament.
• Allison Lowrey scored the second goal of her career, owning two goals and three assists this year. The goal comes after an assist on the gamewinner in the 1-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana in the First Round.
• Misal added the first assist of her career, becoming the 11th Scarlet Knight to contribute to scoring this season.
• Rutgers has held all 16 opponents to single-digit shots on goal this year.  

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