Rutgers women's soccer earns 1-0 win against Ohio State to give itself breathing room in Big Ten standings
The Rutgers women's soccer team traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State Thursday. The Scarlet Knights (8-6-3, 4-4-1) continued their historical dominance over the Buckeyes (8-6-2, 4-4-1) with a 1-0 win.
Rutgers entered this game sitting at No. 8 in the Big Ten standings. The team had the same number of points as Michigan but owned the tiebreaker, which is significant, as the top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament.
With just one more regular season game following this one, this match had major postseason implications for the Knights.
Approximately 2 minutes into the game, Ohio State nearly found the back of the net, as Kailyn Dudukovich had a goal-scoring opportunity, but redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer made the save.
Rutgers responded quickly with two shots, one from senior midfielder and forward Sam Kroeger that went wide left and the other from freshman forward Ashley Baran, whose shot forced a save out of Molly Pritchard.
In the 16th minute, the Buckeyes came inches from a goal as a header from Ava Bramblett rattled off the left post. While the Knights were able to breathe a momentary sigh of relief, Ohio State continued to apply pressure.
Rutgers had a premier scoring opportunity in the 24th minute when junior forward Riley Tiernan stole the ball from the opposing team and passed it to senior forward Allison Lowrey, but the latter's shot was saved by Pritchard again.
The Knights controlled much of the possession in the back end of the first half, but the match went into halftime scoreless. Pritchard was stellar for the Buckeyes, making six saves in the first half.
It did not take long for the scoreless tie to be broken in the second half, as the Knights found the back of the net in the 49th minute. The goal came when graduate student defender Allison Lynch put a cross into the box that found the feet of senior midfielder and defender Becci Fluchel.
Fluchel placed her one-time shot into the top right corner to open the scoring for Rutgers. The goal marked Fluchel's first score of the season as she has battled injuries throughout the year.
The Knights pressed for another goal, but Pritchard continued her impressive game, making two more saves for Ohio State in the second half. Fluchel's goal ended up being the only goal scored in the contest, and Pritchard ended the match with eight saves.
With its victory, Rutgers bolstered its chances of making the Big Ten Tournament. It now holds tiebreakers over the Wolverines (7-5-4, 3-4-2) and the Buckeyes, who are both locked in a tight race with the team.
After the fixtures, the Knights sit in seventh place in the Big Ten, and with one match remaining, Rutgers is 2 points clear of ninth place.
With a Sunday home match against Northwestern, the Knights now control their own destiny. With a win or tie, Rutgers is in the Big Ten Tournament. With a loss, though, the Knights would need Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State to all lose to make it.
The match will begin at 1 p.m. at Yurcak Field on Busch campus and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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.
