Rutgers to host Nebraska for 1st Big Ten game of season

After going undefeated over its first five games, the Rutgers women's soccer team lost its first match of the season last Friday against fellow New Jersey program Monmouth in its first non-conference loss in regulation since 2013. 

A tie against La Salle on Sunday meant the Knights finished non-conference play 4-1-2, with their last win coming back in August.

But, now after a rainy week of practice, Rutgers looks ahead to its first real test of the season, when it hosts Nebraska on Friday evening. The Cornhuskers (4-3-1) mark the team’s first Big Ten opponent of 2018 as it looks to right the ship after a lost weekend.

“We understand that we weren’t happy with the weekend, but we did enough things to win both matches, so now we just need to figure out how to be more efficient to win those matches and it was as simple as that,” said head coach Mike O'Neill. “They recognize that it's a new season because it’s Big Ten play and this part of the season every year makes  or breaks the season.”

The Knights begin this critical part of the season against a program looking to get back on track, as well. 

Nebraska has lost 3 out of 4 games going into Friday night, having been outscored 4-13 over that stretch.

“We want them to see a little bit of what Nebraska’s doing, but in the end it all comes down to us,” O’Neill said. “There’s no easy games and we know that Nebraska is a good team, a well coached team so we expect a very hard match on Friday.”

Still down a couple key players, Rutgers will face the Cornhuskers without a whole roster. 

On offense in particular, the Knights are down a number of forwards that include junior forwards Tiernny Wiltshire and Brittany Laplant, and freshmen forwards Emily Harrigan and Alicia D’Aoust. 

The injuries have opened up opportunities for younger players like sophomore forward Nneka Moneme.

“They started me for a reason, so they believe in me. So I just need to take that confidence and put it out on the field,” Moneme said. “Before the game, (coach O'Neill) said to me that I’ve worked hard for this and there's a reason that I’m out there so that helped me a lot during the game.”

Coach O’Neill has a surplus of underclassmen he can turn to while his veterans recover from injuries, both offensively and defensively. But, managing minutes is still a point of emphasis for the sake of his team’s chemistry in the early part of the season.

Moneme, who made her first start and scored her first goal against La Salle on Sunday, is one of those underclassmen who can help.

“Nneka’s doing a really great job for us ... she’s getting better all the time," O'Neill said. "Do we expect her to play a large role this weekend? Yes. The amount of minutes on that role we’re not sure yet."

Defensively Rutgers showed a couple of cracks the past two games. After only giving up 2 goals over the first five games, the Knights defense gave up 2 goals in each of their past two games. 

The headline of the defense so far this season has been the freshmen tandem of goalkeeper Meagan McClelland and backfielder Shea Holland, as the two, along with a number of other veterans in the back end, will look to contain the likes of Nebraska’s leading scorers Faith Carter and Savanah Uveges.

Senior backfielder and second year captain Kenie Wright, who has been one of the constants for the Knights this season as part of the back line, is confident in her younger teammates and is setting lofty expectations for a defensive unit that she leads.

“We want to get back to not letting up any goals, not letting up any shots, giving them no opportunities. So that starts at the back, but everyone on the field is a defender so we don’t want to give anything up,” Wright said. “It doesn’t matter if you're a freshman, when you step on the field you’re a soccer player. It doesn’t matter your age."

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