I
THE DETAILS
NCAA Tournament First Round
Sat., Nov. 16
5 p.m. ET at Yurcak Field
(6) Rutgers (11-4-5)
vs. UConn (13-4-4)
TV: ESPN+
II
THE BIG DANCE
RU continues a longstanding tradition of NCAA Championships soccer, making the bracket for the 13th year in a row, 15th time in the last 17 years, and 19th time overall. The Scarlet Knights have been ranked or receiving votes for 17 straight seasons. The team enters the NCAA Tournament at No. 32 in the latest RPI. Rutgers will look to make at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in its 19th appearance in the championship bracket.
The Scarlet Knights are 15-13-9 overall in the NCAA Tournament.
The appearance is the 32nd NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, ranking fifth most all-time. It is the first NCAA Tournament for UConn since 2016. UConn earned the automatic bid to the NCAA's with a 2-1 thriller in double overtime against Xavier in the BIG EAST Final on Sunday.
The winner of Saturday's game will move on to the second round against the winner of three-seed Stanford and UC Santa Barbara. The highest remaining seed will host the second and third rounds. Two-seed Arkansas vs. Oklahoma St. and seven-seed Pepperdine vs. California fills out Rutgers' section of the bracket.
III
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Fifth-seeded UConn won its Big East Tournament Championship since 2004 by defeating four-seed Creighton, 1-0, in the quarterfinals, top-seeded and No. 20 ranked Georgetown, 2-0, in the semifinals, then beat second-seeded Xavier, 2-1, in double-overtime to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies outscored opponents 40-19 in 2024, led by
Chioma Okafor's 12 goals, which rank 22nd in the NCAA and tops in the Big East.
Kaitlyn Mahoney leads the goalkeeping unit with eight shutouts, a 0.90 goals-against average, and a 0.767 save percentage.
Chioma Okafor earned First Team All-Big East accolades for the second-straight season.
Lucy Cappadona and sophomore
Anaya Johnson earned second team status while senior
Abbey Jones was named to the third team.
The Scarlet Knights are 7-16-4 all-time against UConn since 1984 while sharing the Big East Conference for more than two decades. The sides have met twice in the NCAA Tournament - a 1-0 win for UConn in the first round in 1984 and a 3-0 win for Rutgers in the third round in 2015 on the way to its first College Cup. That win was in the middle of a current five-match winning streak for Rutgers in the series dating back to 2015 up to their last meeting in 2018 in Storrs. They last met in Piscataway in 2017, a 2-0 Rutgers win at Yurcak Field.
IV
BEST IN THE B1G
Rutgers women's soccer placed three Scarlet Knights on the 2024 All-Big Ten awards. Senior
Emily Mason has been named to the All-Big Ten First Team, senior
Riley Tiernan is on the Second Team, and
Shaela Bradley has been selected to the All-Freshman Team. Senior
Kassidy Banks earned the team's Sportsmanship Award.
V
THE BODMER
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer put on an unprecedented performance in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal against No. 4 USC. Facing 26 shots and 10 corner kicks during 110 minutes of double-overtime playoff soccer, Bodmer made seven saves to force a penalty shootout, including three in overtime. In PK's, as Rutgers converted three shots in a row, Bodmer saved an unheard-of three penalties in a row - henceforth known as The Bodmer - to clinch the 3-0 PK result to advance Rutgers to its fourth Big Ten Tournament championship match.
Bodmer claimed the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honor after a 1-0 shutout at Michigan and a 1-1 draw at No. 1 Michigan State, marking Rutgers' first Goalkeeper of the Week conference honor since Meagan McClelland in 2021.
VI
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Rutgers advanced to the NCAA College Cup twice in 2015 and 2021. The Scarlet Knights advanced out of the first round 12 times in their 18 appearances, and advanced to the Sweet 16 four times.
The Scarlet Knights are 10-2-4 all-time when hosting an NCAA Tournament match at Yurcak Field.
VII
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Rutgers returned 41 percent of its points from 2023 and was in search for new sources of offense heading into 2024. The underclassmen responded with four Scarlet Knights recording their first collegiate points early this season.
Freshman midfielder
Shaela Bradley, who has started all 17 games, scored her first goal in the win over Maine and added her first assist in the victory over Lehigh. Bradley is a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and ranks second on the team with 11 points on four goals and three assists, including the equalizing goal to earn the 1-1 draw at No. 19 Penn State.
Redshirt freshman
Reilly McGlinn opened her collegiate scoring with Rutgers' goal against Wake Forest in the 1-1 draw and pitched in her first assist in the win over Maine. McGlinn earned her first collegiate start in the Big Ten Tournament Championship against UCLA on Sunday.
Redshirt freshman
Gabriela Gil scored the opening goal and game-winner against Lehigh for her first score, and netted the game-winner in the 1-0 victory at Michigan. Gil claimed Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after scoring a high-pressure penalty in the 86th minute to tie the game at 1-1 at No. 1 Michigan State.
Freshman
Mikayla Mandleur notched her first collegiate point on the assist in the Lehigh triumph.
VIII
BARAN BANGERS
Sophomore striker
Ashley Baran scored her first collegiate hat trick against Nebraska to help the Scarlet Knights erase a 2-1 deficit and claim a 3-2 victory to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten. It was Rutgers' first hat trick in Big Ten play since joining the conference 2014. Baran, who came into the contest with one goal in 2024, left the field with four. She opened scoring in the fifth minute, and after Nebraska tied in the sixth and went ahead in the 10th, collected her brace in the 51st and the hat trick in the 54th on the game-winner.
Baran scored the Golden Goal in the overtime victory over No. 16 Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and the equalizing goal down a player against No. 4 USC in the semifinal to force the 1-1 draw and the successful penalty shootout.
IX
YOUNG MINUTES
Rutgers has sported five true freshmen or redshirt freshmen in starting lineups this season in forward
Shaela Bradley, midfielder
Gabriela Gil, back
Claire Hammill, midfielder
Mikayla Mandleur, and forward
Reilly McGlinn. The following freshmen or redshirt freshmen also have minutes through the 2024 season:
Riley Morris,
Gabby Miller, and
Brianna Azevedo.
X
SHOOTOUT SUCCESS
Rutgers' 3-0 shootout win over No. 4 USC in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal was its first penalty shootout victory since advancing to the 2021 College Cup with a 4-2 PK win over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals at Yurcak Field. Rutgers has won three of its last four penalty shootouts dating back to 2021.
XI
IMPACT TRANSFERS
Transfers
Sydney Urban (Maryland) and
Patricia Tsokos (Arkansas) have made their presence known in their first seasons in Scarlet. Graduate transfer Urban has started in all 20 matches in the midfield, adding her first assist of the season and second of her long career in the successful Big Ten Tournament semifinal. Sophomore Tsokos has 18 starts in 20 appearances and also flexes well between defensive and midfield positions to chip into one of the best defensive metrics in the country.
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-RU-
