Rutgers women's soccer to face Saint Louis in round two of NCAA Tournament
The Rutgers women’s soccer team will face off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Saint Louis this Friday at 5 p.m. on Yurcak Field.
The Scarlet Knights (18-3-0, 10-0-0) are fresh off a 2-0 shut-out victory against Bucknell to breeze past the first round.
“Making it to the second round is really nice, you know, survive and advance … We're really excited to get back on the pitch … Our fans and families and friends are all here to support us, and their energy is definitely really good for us," said sophomore midfielder Sam Kroeger.
Two players added goals to Rutgers’ highest-scoring season in program history. No assists were needed for senior midfielder Frankie Tagliaferri and freshman forward Riley Tiernan as they both tallied solo goals to advance the Knights to victory.
Tagliaferri’s high-scoring season puts her among the best attackers in the country with 13 total goals. With zero assists from the last game, Tiernan still ranks in the top 15 in the country for total assists, the third-highest freshman in this statistic.
Senior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland notched her 12th shutout of the season for the Knights and secured the clean sheet with six saves to end the match for Rutgers.
Their upcoming opponent, the Billikens (13-8-1, 7-3-0), are Atlantic 10 champions and beat Ole Miss on the road in the first round of the NCAA College Cup for their first tournament win since 2006.
Saint Louis won thanks in part to Hannah Friedrich. Friedrich assisted the opening goal of the match for Mattyn Summers. Friedrich then scored an 89th-minute game-winning goal to send the Billikens to the second round. She was also named in the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week for her performance in the last match.
If the Knights advance past the second round, they will face either Texas Christian or Princeton. The Tigers (15-2-1, 6-1-0) broke Rutgers’ three-game win streak earlier this season and bestowed the first loss for the Knights’ season.
“We are trying to keep the ball rolling with that and create as many chances as we can, finish as many as we can and keep (a) clean sheet," said senior forward Amirah Ali.
Streaming for the match is to be announced. Live stats will be provided at kickoff, and listeners can tune in to 88.7 WRSU.
For updates on the Rutgers women's soccer team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
