MADISON, Wis. – Returning from a three-game suspension, senior forward
Gia Girman scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute as Rutgers women's soccer (5-1-1. 1-0-0) won 1-0 at Wisconsin (4-2-1, 0-1-0) on Thursday night at McClimon Track/Soccer Complex in the Big Ten opener.
All five of Rutgers' victories this season have come via the clean sheet by
Olivia Bodmer and the backline.
Deadlocked at 0-0 in the 79th, freshman
Mikayla Mandleur won a tough 50-50 ball at midfield before laying off to
Gabriela Gil, who played ahead to
Shaela Bradley into space. Bradley threaded the defense with a one-time pass to spring Girman, who buried the shot to the left-side netting for the decisive score.
The center official called for a video assistant review to check for a Rutgers foul and allowed the goal.
Girman, in her first game since Aug. 25, played 34 minutes in her return and netted her first of the season.
"This team is amazing," Girman said. "We have our heart and soul for 90 minutes. There is no better feeling than winning with your sisters."
Wisconsin's leading scorer Aryssa Mahrt came into the contest with six goals, ranking 11th in the nation, and with the country's third-best shots on goal per game mark at 3.17. The Rutgers defense locked Mahrt down as the graduate student Badger managed one shot on goal attempt that Bodmer handled.
Senior captains
Kassidy Banks and
Emily Mason, sophomore
Patricia Tsokos, and freshman
Claire Hammill all played the full 90 minutes in Rutgers' fourth consecutive shutout victory.
"As a team, we've been focused on having each other's backs," said Hammill, starting in her sixth consecutive game and second in a row with 90 minutes logged. "We've been playing great teams, but sticking together has been the key to having four straight shutouts. We play as one for each other, making it hard for anyone to stop us."
Rutgers held a seventh straight opponent to four or less shots on goal to start the 2024 season. Wisconsin led 9-7 in shots and 4-3 in shots on target. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Olivia Bodmer made four saves in her fifth clean sheet of the year.
The Scarlet Knights return to Yurcak Field for its Big Ten home opener on Thurs., Sept. 19 against one of the conference's newest members, Oregon, at 7 p.m. ET.
NOTES
- Gia Girman scored her first goal of the season and fifth of her career.
- Career assists: Shaela Bradley (2), Gabriela Gil (2).
- Olivia Bodmer posted career shutout No. 14 in her 27th match.
- Rutgers has allowed four shots on goal or less in all seven games.
- Rutgers is now 8-2-1 in Big Ten openers since joining the conference in 2014.
- Rutgers moves to 3-6-3 all-time against Wisconsin since 1992 and 3-4-1 as Big Ten regular season opponents.
Follow Rutgers women's soccer on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for
Apple or
Android today.
- RU -
