Rutgers women's soccer scores late goal to defeat Providence
The Rutgers women's soccer team took on Providence tonight at Yurcak Field on Busch campus. The Scarlet Knights (3-2-2, 0-0-0) defeated the Friars (5-1-0, 0-0-0) by a score of 1-0.
Toward the end of the 6th minute, Rutgers had an excellent scoring opportunity, but graduate student forward Gia Vicari chipped the shot just high of the goal. Providence responded with a shot attempt of its own, but sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer made the save for the Knights.
Rutgers continued its attacking prowess with yet another great shot attempt, but this time, Emma Bodmer, older sister of Olivia Bodmer, made a save for the Friars. The game remained 0-0 at the hands of the Bodmer's.
In the 14th minute, it looked as though the Knights had struck first in this game, but an offside call prevented the goal, and things remained scoreless.
A poor handle off of a pass from Olivia Bodmer allowed a breakaway opportunity for Providence in the 20th minute, but the shot sailed wide left. Rutgers held its breath on this one but walked away unscathed yet again.
Olivia Bodmer was busy as two more close calls came in the 34th minute, but the Knights continued to bend, not break and remained tied. Some sloppy passing plagued Rutgers, but ultimately, Olivia Bodmer remained solid.
To the Bodmer family's pleasure in the crowd, the game was 0-0 at the half as the Bodmer sisters both performed well. To the Knights' dismay, though, the half marked their fifth straight scoreless half dating back to the match against Princeton.
To begin the second half, the Friars swapped Emma Bodmer out and put in Katherine McElroy, something they have done every game so far this season. Coming into this game, the pair hadn't allowed a single goal all season.
In approximately the 55th minute, senior midfielder Becci Fluchel picked up a yellow card, but Providence was unable to capitalize on the free kick from just outside of the box.
In the 56th minute, the Friars had a golden opportunity for a goal, but Olivia Bodmer made an excellent save, putting her body on the line to deflect the ball away from the goal.
In the 72nd minute, Providence fouled freshman forward Ashley Baran. Due to the penalty being inches outside of the box, Rutgers missed the opportunity for a potential penalty kick. Senior midfielder and forward Sam Kroeger lined up for the free kick and fired a rocket of a shot to the right side of the net, but McElroy made the diving save.
On the ensuing corner kick after the save, the Knights had another great opportunity, but a header missed wide left. With approximately 15 minutes left, Rutgers was relentlessly knocking on the door.
With 10 minutes remaining, the Knights finally scored as the ball deflected off numerous players before finding the back of the net. Senior forward Allison Lowrey assisted senior forward Giana Romano on the score.
Olivia Bodmer got the better of her sister this time.
"It was exciting, but when the whistle started, it was just another keeper out there," said Olivia Bodmer. "I'm happy that the game is over, and neither of us got scored on."
Rutgers returns to action on Sunday in another home game against UMass. The game will start at 1 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
"We're gonna keep the momentum going," said Olivia Bodmer. "We're fired up, and we're just gonna keep it going and keep the energy up."
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To view more of Camden Markel's work, follow @CamdenMarkel on X.
Editor's Note: A previous version of the article said that Emma Bodmer made a save in the 72nd minute. It has now been corrected to Katherine McElroy.
