I
THE DETAILS
Big Ten Tournament Championship
Sun., Nov. 10
1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT) at CITYPARK (St. Louis, Mo.)
#5 seed Rutgers (11-3-5)
vs. #2 seed No. 9 UCLA (15-3-3)
TV: Big Ten Network
II
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Rutgers finished fifth in the new 18-team Big Ten with 21 points from a 6-2-3 conference record. The Scarlet Knights won 10 matches in the regular season for the 11th time in 12 full seasons (excluding 2020), and earned draws on the road at No. 1 Michigan State and No. 19 Penn State. Rutgers' highest RPI win came via a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Wisconsin to open up Big Ten play. Heading into the Big Ten Championship, the Scarlet Knights own four draws this season against current RPI ranks No. 4 (USC), No. 7 (Wake Forest), No. 8 (Penn State), and No. 20 (Michigan State). RU also has a win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Down 1-0 and down a player for 60 minutes of regulation and double overtime, Rutgers fought back to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship after defeating top-seeded and No. 4 ranked USC in a penalty shootout in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Scarlet Knights and Trojans drew 1-1 after 110 minutes of playoff soccer, then won the penalty shootout by an unheard-of 3-0 margin after three makes by
Emily Mason,
Shaela Bradley, and
Allie Post and three saves by
Olivia Bodmer. Bodmer ended with seven saves during her 110 minutes before the epic shootout performance.
UCLA earned the two-seed with an 8-1-3 record in their first Big Ten season. The Bruins defeated 10-seed Penn State, 1-0, and six-seed Washington, 2-0, on the way to the title game. In the quarterfinals against Penn State, defender
Nicki Fraser, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, scored the game's only goal in the 36th minute, the first of her collegiate career. In the semifinal, UCLA benefited from an early own goal and added insurance by
Ayo Oke in the 35th minute as goalkeeper
Ryan Campbell recorded her nation-leading 15th shutout of the season.
III
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
No. 9 UCLA finished second in the Big Ten after their first regular season in the league with an 8-1-2 record. Their only conference loss came to champions USC on the final matchday of the regular season. The Bruins send out the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, senior defender
Lilly Reale, who is a two-time All-American and No. 1 rated player on the Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 list. Freshman defender
Nicki Fraser is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after leading the defense to 15 shutouts and a 0.33 goals-against average - both tops in the nation.
Bridgette Marin-Valencia leads the team with 10 points on four goals and two assists, while
Sofia Cook ties for the team-lead with four goals.
The Scarlet Knights are 0-2 against UCLA all-time - a 2-0 loss at home in 1997 and a 1-0 setback in California in 2011.
IV
BEST IN THE B1G
Rutgers women's soccer placed three Scarlet Knights on the 2024 All-Big Ten awards, announced by the conference office on Friday. 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. 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 has done her part on the defensive unit leading to 0.73 goals allowed per game. Bodmer ranks fifth in the Big Ten with her seven solo shutouts. Her 0.73 goals-against average ranks 33rd in the nation and sixth in the Big Ten.
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
B1G TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Rutgers plays in its fourth Big Ten Tournament Championship game since joining the conference in 2014, and are seeking their first Big Ten Tournament title. The Scarlet Knights fell just short against 2015 versus Penn State (2-0), 2016 opposite Minnesota (2-1), and 2021 against Michigan (1-0).
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. 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. Freshman
Mikayla Mandleur notched her first collegiate point on the assist in the Lehigh triumph.
Gabriela 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.
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.
"It was a must-win game," Baran said. "After two ties and conceding twice early in this one, we recollected at halftime because we knew we could be the better team. The game was ours after that."
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 three true freshmen in starting lineups this season in forward
Shaela Bradley, back
Claire Hammill, and midfielder
Mikayla Mandleur. The following freshmen or redshirt freshmen also have minutes through the 2024 season:
Gabriela Gil,
Reilly McGlinn,
Riley Morris,
Gabby Miller, and
Brianna Azevedo.
X
SHOOTOUT SUCCESS
Rutgers won its first penalty shootout 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 19 matches in the midfield and has contributed plenty to the 0.73 goals-against average, also adding her first assist of the season and second of her long career in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal. Sophomore Tsokos has 17 starts in 19 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-
