PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's soccer (9-6-3, 5-4-1) defeated Northwestern (9-5-4, 3-5-1) by a 2-1 score at Yurcak Field on Decision Day in the Big Ten Conference, clinching the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.
Sara Brocious and
Ashley Baran scored the RU goals and each added assists for three points apiece in the regular season finale.
The Scarlet Knights, who won four of their final five matches, will travel to No. 3 seed Wisconsin for the quarterfinals.
The emotional win was dedicated to the O'Neill Family. Head coach
Mike O'Neill was not on the sidelines Sunday as he grieves the passing of his older sister. Associate head coach
Lubos Ancin served as the acting head coach in the victory.
SCORING SUMMARY
- Sara Brocious scored first in the 33rd minute after Ashley Baran headed down a cross from Allison Lowrey. In the right place, Brocious executed a perfect flick shot over the 'Cats' goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.
- Northwestern's Josie Aulicino leveled the match at 1-1 in the 57th minute after halftime with a perfect shot that clipped the bottom of the crossbar before going in.
- Ashley Baran netted her first collegiate game-winner in the 77th minute. Sara Brocious started the play from behind midfield with a crisp pass with Sam Kroeger, who played a one-time pass through the defense to Baran, who only had the keeper to beat with a hard shot off the goalie and into net for the deciding 2-1 advantage.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
- Northwestern managed their first shot attempt in the 24th minute, and their first shot on goal in the 50th minute, which was saved by a spectacular leap by Rutgers keeper Olivia Bodmer.
- Bodmer kept the match tied at 1-1 in the 64th by smartly coming off the line and breaking up a quick shot in the box.
QUOTABLE
"We are so proud of the team," said associate head coach
Lubos Ancin. "We know what we had to do. Every person on this team, from the bench to the field, brought the energy and did the job. The mindset from the start was to take care of our business, regardless of the score."
STAT SHEET
- Northwestern ended up outshooting Rutgers, 9-8, overall in a defensive-minded game despite the three total goals. The Wildcats also led, 4-3, in shots on target.
- Olivia Bodmer made three saves in her ninth collegiate victory in net.
- Becci Fluchel joined the goal scorers with a shot on goal in the win.
- Kroeger, Brocious, Riley Tiernan, Allison Lynch, and Kassidy Banks played the full 90 minutes in the regular season finale.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Rutgers has qualified for the Big Ten Tournament in all 10 years it has competed in the conference, which admits the top eight teams from the 14-team league into its postseason tournament.
- Career goals: Sara Brocious (12), Ashley Baran (2)
- Career assists: Ashley Baran (1), Allison Lowrey (15), Sam Kroeger (15), Sara Brocious (19)
- Sara Brocious ties Amirah Ali for eighth in program history with 19 career assists.
- Ashley Baran records her first collegiate assist and first multi-point match with three.
- Rutgers holds a 5-3-2 advantage in the Northwestern series, including a 4-1 record in Piscataway and a 4-2-2 record as Big Ten regular season opponents. Last season, the sides worked to a 1-1 draw in Evanston before the Wildcats claimed a 2-1 victory in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, also in Illinois. Rutgers' last win in the series came in 2019 - a 2-0 triumph in New Jersey.
LOOK AHEAD
Rutgers will be the No. 3 seed heading to No. 6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals. The schedule information will be released later on Sunday.
Follow Rutgers women's soccer on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for
Apple or
Android today.
- RU -
