UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Rutgers women's soccer (9-1-0) suffered its first setback of the season on Thursday evening at No. 17 Penn State (6-1-2), dropping a 2-0 final score at a rainy and windy Jeffrey Field. The loss snapped a 20-match regular season winning streak for the Scarlet Knights.
"Credit to Penn State," said head coach
Mike O'Neill. "They're a good team, and these are the games you learn the most from. The most important thing is we stick together and learn everything we can from this game."
The Nittany Lions struck early for the 1-0 lead in the ninth minute after an initial shot was saved and rebounded for an open shot on net. Meanwhile Rutgers didn't take its first shot attempt until the 19th minute.
The RU offense picked up as heavy rain and wind commenced at Jeffrey Field in the first half. By halftime, Rutgers was outshooting Penn State 10-5, including 5-3 in shots on goal.
Sara Brocious,
Riley Tiernan, and
Kylie Daigle all had attempts on target saved in the opening 45 minutes.
Penn State got its insurance in the 54th minute after a through ball led to a one-on-one opportunity on attack.
Emily Mason never let down on defense, coming up with a header save off the goal line on a corner kick attempt by Penn State. Later, she chased down a Nittany Lion breakaway chance with a wind sprint into a slide tackle to stop the opportunity.
KNIGHT NOTES
- The setback was Rutgers' first regular season loss since Sept. 12, 2021 at Georgetown. The regular season winning streak is halted at 20.
- The Rutgers defense allowed a season-high five shots on goal.
- Penn State moves to 11-9-4 all-time against Rutgers.
UP NEXT: The Scarlet Knights head home to host Maryland on Sun., Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at Yurcak Field, airing live on Big Ten Network.
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