Rutgers women's soccer suffers loss to Penn State
The Rutgers women's soccer team returned to action against Penn State tonight at Yurcak Field on Busch campus. The Scarlet Knights (4-4-2, 0-2-0) fell to the Nittany Lions (8-0-1, 2-0-0) by a score of 2-1.
No. 4 Penn State came into the match undefeated, and the Nittany Lions' dominance over their opponents continued in the first half against Rutgers.
The game got off to a slow start with very few scoring opportunities. With approximately 15 minutes left in the first half, Penn State led the Knights 5-2 in shots, but neither team had managed a shot on goal.
The goalless deadlock did not last long, though, as the Nittany Lions found the back of the net in the 34th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Payton Linnehan was assisted by Riley Gleason for the score.
The game then got chippy as junior forward Riley Tiernan picked up a yellow card less than a minute after the goal, and exactly three minutes later, Penn State's Eva Alonso picked up her own yellow card.
The Nittany Lions doubled their advantage in the 40th minute thanks to a goal from Amelia White. Penn State would attempt another shot before the end of the half, but the attempt was saved by redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer. Rutgers did not attempt a shot in the final 14 minutes of the half. The Knights went into the half down 2-0 and trailed 8-2 in total shots. The Nittany Lions dominated the midfield and attack throughout the first half.
Rutgers fought back in the second half and began creating scoring chances. In the 63rd minute, the Knights would halve their opponents' lead, thanks to a goal from senior midfielder and forward Sam Kroeger. The goal was a brilliant solo goal as Kroeger stole the ball in the midfield, dribbled to the edge of Penn State's box and fired a shot into the bottom right corner past the diving goalkeeper. The goal marked Kroeger's first of the season.
With just less than 30 minutes left to play, Rutgers was in striking distance.
The Knights pushed for the equalizer in the final 27 minutes of the match, attempting four shots and two shots on goal, but they could not put the ball in the back of the net.
While it was a competitive second half, Rutgers could not erase its deficit in the first half.
The Knights will have another crack at their first Big Ten victory when they play Purdue on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Yurcak Field on Busch campus.
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