Rutgers women's soccer battles elements for 1-0 win against Purdue
The Rutgers women's soccer team hosted Purdue this afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (5-4-2, 1-2-0) battled through the rainy weather and pulled off the 1-0 victory against the Boilermakers (3-7-1, 0-2-1) for their first Big Ten win of the season.
Coming off of a close loss to Penn State, who ranks fourth in the nation, Rutgers bounced back against Purdue and got back in the win column.
The Knights started off hot in the match, as they got on the board just 82 seconds into the game. The goal came when junior forward Riley Tiernan's corner kick found junior back Emily Mason at the back post. Mason took a touch and fired the ball off the post and into the bottom right corner for the score. It was Mason's 1st goal of the season.
As the game went on, the weather got worse, and the rainy match began to get chippy. In the 36th minute, sophomore back Naila Schoefberger received a yellow card. Approximately 5 minutes later, Tiernan picked up a yellow card of her own.
The early goal turned out to be vital as the Boilermakers began to settle into the game and start attacking. At the end of the first half, Purdue had attempted nine shots whereas Rutgers attempted only four shots. Despite the Boilermaker's shot advantage, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer stayed strong and tallied two saves to keep Purdue off the board.
The Knights took a 1-0 lead into halftime despite trailing in shot attempts and corner kicks. Rutgers also committed eight fouls to the Boilermakers four fouls.
The second half saw Bodmer with her hands full as she recorded four saves across the half. Her sixth save of the day came in the 71st minute when she made an excellent diving stop on a long-range effort from Zoie Allen.
Thanks to Bodmer's efforts, the Knights were able to preserve the shutout.
Rutgers finished the game trailing 19-10 in shots and 6-4 in shots on goal, but its lone goal in the 2nd minute was enough for the victory.
The Knights now have a chance to build on their victory, but it will not be easy, as their next three games are on the road.
First up on the three-game road trip is a match on Thursday against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers (7-2-2, 1-1-1) will be looking to bounce back from a loss while Rutgers looks to begin a fresh winning streak. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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