Rutgers women's soccer falls to Indiana
The Rutgers women’s soccer team lost to Indiana in overtime yesterday in its first out-of-state game this year. The Hoosiers (1-1-0, 1-1-0) prevailed 1-0 in overtime due to a strike by Melanie Forbes that was set up off a corner kick.
The Scarlet Knights (1-1-0, 1-1-0), coming off a decisive 3-2 victory to begin the season versus No. 13 Penn State, looked to continue its success against Indiana. Rutgers pulled off back-to-back 1-0 wins the last two times it played the Hoosiers in 2019 — one in the Big Ten Quarterfinal, the other in a regular-season contest that ended in overtime.
The Knights and Indiana both played a physical game in the first half. Rutgers had only one shot, coming from freshman forward Giana Romano. Romano had a chance that was created off of a turnover by Bethany Kopel inside the Hoosiers' defensive territory, but was unable to score.
Indiana had a chance on the goal throughout the first 45 minutes of play, as junior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland steered away Oliwia Wos to keep the game scoreless during the first period.
To begin the second half, the Hoosiers continued their physical pressure. McClelland was tested early into period two as she denied a corner opportunity from Jen Blitchok under three minutes in, while also stopping Forbes at 57:43.
The Knights also had a physical edge to their game, as Rutgers not only had 12 total fouls in the game, but they also outshot Indiana 4-2 in the second half alone.
Freshman midfielder Sam Kroeger had a few moments of her own. Kroeger had left the game midway through the second half due to an upper-body injury but ended up returning towards the end of regulation in order to receive her first career yellow card with the Knights and the first warning issued to Rutgers this season.
Overtime was needed for the second time in the past year between the two teams.
In the extra frame, a corner kick set up how the game ended. Off the kick, Forbes would be left open in front of the net to score the game-winning goal at 94:08.
The Knights continue their first road trip of the season this Sunday at noon against Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana.
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