Gia Girman scores timely goal in return from suspension, Rutgers women's soccer wins Big Ten opener
The Rutgers women's soccer team defeated Wisconsin 1-0 to give the team their fourth straight win. With a strong second-half performance, the Scarlet Knights (5-1-1, 1-0-0) secured their first conference win of the season.
The first half of the game was scoreless despite both teams' offensive power. The Badgers (4-2-1, 0-1-0) started the game with an attempted shot in the first minute from Riley Philbin that redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer saved.
Both Wisconsin and Rutgers were moving the ball with pace and had a respectable attacking drive for the first portion of the half. In the 12th minute, Philbin launched another attempt toward the goal that went off target.
Junior midfielder Allie Post made an effort to score for the Knights in the 14th minute, but Drew Stover made the save. The half was still up for grabs as both sides fought for control of the ball.
Both sides continued to press forward offensively, but neither managed to score a goal.
The second half began with some offensive aggression, as senior forward Riley Tiernan fired a shot off within the first 90 seconds.
While Rutgers continued to knock on the door, the Badgers remained solid at the backline and kept the former off the board. But with the game clock closing in on just 10 minutes to go, the Knights finally broke through.
Senior forward Gia Girman found a wide-open shot as Stover stepped up from the goal, resulting in Girman slamming the ball into the bottom left of the goal. Freshman midfielder Shaela Bradley and redshirt freshman Gabriela Gil set Girman up beautifully for the goal, and each recorded an assist on the score.
Girman's goal came during the 79th minute of the game, and it was her first of the season. The forward was seeing her first action since coming off of a three-game suspension and kept her spirits high entering the game to help her team pull out a win.
Wisconsin searched for the equalizer in the remaining time left to play, but the Badgers were unable to do so as Rutgers' defense remained stout.
The Knights now return home with a win and will have a week off before their next game against Oregon on Thursday. The game will begin at 7 p.m. at Yurcak Field on Busch campus and broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU FM.
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