Rutgers women's soccer opens up conference play with loss to Indiana
The Rutgers women's soccer team opened up Big Ten play tonight in an away game against Indiana. The Scarlet Knights (4-3-2, 0-1-0) fell to the undefeated Hoosiers (7-0-2, 1-0-0) by a score of 3-2.
Indiana got off to a hot start before Rutgers attempted to come back but ultimately fell short.
The Hoosiers got on the board exceptionally quickly, scoring their first goal not even a full minute into the match. The goal came off the right foot of Anna Bennett just 54 seconds into the game. Paige Webber, Indiana's top goal scorer, was credited with the assist.
Approximately 4 minutes later, Webber scored a goal of her own. Webber was able to lob the ball over redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer as she rushed outside of her box. The Knights trailed 2-0 less than 5 minutes into the game and would have to claw their way back into the match.
Rutgers was able to find its footing in the 38th minute when junior forward Gia Girman found the back of the net off assists from freshman forward Olivia Russomanno and senior midfielder and forward Giana Romano. It was Girman's 2nd goal of the season.
Headed into halftime, the Knights trailed 2-1. Despite trailing, Rutgers attempted one more shot than the Hoosiers in the first half and was able to build some momentum.
Approximately 6 minutes into the second half, a miscommunication between Indiana's goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg and Zoe Tiger allowed graduate student forward Gia Vicari to get in between them, take possession of the ball and score with an open net. The goal would tie the game at 2-2.
With approximately 20 minutes remaining in the match, things began to get a bit chippy as the Hoosiers were handed two yellow cards in the span of 4 minutes. Hope Paredes received the yellow card in the 69th minute, and Sydney Masur picked up the yellow card in the 72nd minute.
After the improbable 2-goal comeback, Indiana regained its lead in the 85th minute. Webber was the goal scorer once again, and it was her 11th goal of the season in just nine games played.
The Knights would push for an equalizer in the final 5 minutes but were ultimately unsuccessful.
Rutgers will now look ahead to Thursday when the team returns home to Yurcak Field on Busch campus to take on Penn State. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's soccer team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Camden Markel's work, follow @CamdenMarkel on X.
