Riley Tiernan sets program record in Rutgers women's soccer win over Oregon
The Rutgers women's soccer team remained undefeated in Big Ten play after downing Oregon 3-0 on Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights (6-1-1, 2-0-0) controlled the game from start to finish against the Ducks (4-5-0, 0-1-0) and have now won five straight games.
It was an electric start for Rutgers, scoring in the 8th minute. Sophomore forward Ashley Baran picked up the ball in Oregon's box and passed it over to senior forward Riley Tiernan. Tiernan then played a pass right to the penalty spot, where junior midfielder Allie Post shot it first time to open the scoring.
Tiernan was then involved in the 2nd goal, approximately 18 minutes later. She sprinted into the box and played a pass across goal to the far side, where freshman midfielder Shaela Bradley easily shot it into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead. That assist was the 30th of Tiernan's career, setting a new program record. It surpassed Gina DeMaio's 29 assists from 2006 to 2010 on the Banks.
At halftime, the Knights were in complete control, outshooting the Ducks 17-2.
Rutgers had the first big chance of the second half. Post played a ball over the top into Tiernan, who was through on goal and took a shot, but it went wide. After reviewing the build-up to the shot, Tiernan had her shirt tugged by Karolina Jasaityte, resulting in a red card in the 57th minute.
10 minutes later, Tiernan threaded a pass in between Oregon's backline that found Baran, who hit it with her left foot, but Ducks goalkeeper Maddy Goldberg made a fingertip save.
The Knights put the game to bed with a 3rd goal in the 84th minute. Senior midfielder Kylie Daigle received the ball at the top of the box and struck it with her left foot, with the ball finding the top left corner for the consolation goal.
Tiernan now leads the team with 11 points off 2 goals and seven assists. Post is close behind, with 4 goals and two assists.
After the game, Tiernan spoke on setting a new program record in assists.
"I think it starts with my team, right, we have a lot of talent and depth this year, so knowing that I can dish the ball out and my teammates are gonna put it in the back of the net, that's key," Tiernan said. "You can't be an assister without people that are gonna put the ball in the back of the net, so I think just knowing my players and having my team behind me has helped a lot."
The Rutgers backline limited Oregon to just two shots, both coming in the first half. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer had an easy day between the posts, making only one save to earn her 15th career shutout and fifth straight this season.
The Knights will have a short break before they face Washington on Sunday at Yurcak Field on Busch campus. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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