No. 22 Rutgers readies for conference home stand
Heading into its last two home matches before the Big Ten tournament, held in Piscataway, the Rutgers women’s soccer team has big goals. The No. 22 Scarlet Knights (10-2-2, 4-2-1) have had a great turnaround to record three consecutive conference wins and tie, after struggling in two early matchups at home.
Rutgers will face Purdue on Thursday at 8 p.m., followed by Sunday's game against Indiana at 1 p.m. for the Knights’ Senior Day.
A lot will be honored during Rutgers' last home match of the conference season to a senior class, which has made massive contributions to the team this season.
Senior back Chantelle Swaby brought back valuable experience from her time competing for Jamaica at the FIFA World Cup over the summer.
Senior forward Brittany LaPlant has been a workhorse on the field and garnered her second career Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week mention. Seniors back Amanda Visco and midfielder Taylor Aylmer have also teamed up twice this season on corner kick goals to put the Knights ahead of their opponents.
Rutgers still has plenty of talent to fill in for the seniors, but they are big shoes to fill. Luckily, the Knights don’t look anywhere near done with their season as the Big Ten tournament and possible NCAA competition is approaching in the next couple of weeks and will be the seniors’ last chance to make their mark representing the scarlet and white.
Last time out, Rutgers traveled to the Midwest and returned home undefeated. The Knights sealed a 1-0 win on Oct. 11 against Iowa and two days later, added a 1-1 double-overtime draw to Nebraska.
This weekend, Rutgers is one of the top teams to beat in the conference. Both the Boilermakers (6-6-3, 2-4-2) and the Hoosiers (7-6-1, 3-3-1) haven’t scored nearly as many goals as the Knights this season and are absent from the leaderboard in shots, goals and assists.
Rutgers has a chance to add up more points to move up the rankings and qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Scouting Purdue
The Boilermakers sit in the middle of the conference are coming off of a 2-1 loss to Penn State at home. Leading Purdue is Leanna Rebimbas and Hannah Melchiorre at three goals each. The Boilermakers' goalkeeper Marisa Bova has recorded 48 saves on a .800 percentage.
Over the Knights' and Purdue’s last two matchups, Rutgers has won 2-1 at Yurcak Field. The Knights haven't lost a game against the Boilermakers since joining the Big Ten.
Scouting Indiana
Rutgers has never lost to the Hoosiers and it's hoping that doesn’t change anytime soon. The Knights hold a 3-0-1 record to Indiana, but the last time they played each other was back in 2017.
Over the weekend, the Hoosiers won 1-0 to Ohio State and will face off against Maryland on Thursday evening before coming to play Rutgers on Sunday.
Indiana’s Avery Lockwood and Chandra Davidson lead their team with four goals apiece, while the Hoosiers’ goalkeeper Bethany Kopel has 40 saves to her name on a .769 save percentage. Kopel has also recorded seven shutouts this season.
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