Rutgers women's soccer blanks Maine for second straight win
The Rutgers women's team secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season with a 3-0 dispatching of Maine on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (3-1-1, 0-0) put 3 goals past the Black Bears (2-1-2), handing them their first defeat of the season.
Rutgers started the half looking shaky after senior defender Kassidy Banks and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer collided with each other and gave away corners within the first 5 minutes.
The Knights opened up the game as time went on and finally took the lead in the 26th minute. Senior forward Riley Tiernan made a run into the box and then laid it off to freshman midfielder Shaela Bradley for her 1st career goal. Less than 10 minutes later, senior midfielder Kylie Daigle, who came on as a substitute, settled the ball at the top of the box, took a fake shot and then struck the ball cleanly into the far post.
Rutgers ended the half with three corners in the final 7 minutes and led 2-0.
The Knights were defensively sound in the second half, keeping Maine scoreless.
Junior forward Allie Post tried to extend the home team’s lead after a ball found her at the top of the box with an open goal, but Black Bear goalkeeper Jessica Kasacek scrambled back to make a diving save and deny a 3rd goal. Senior defender Emily Mason also had a golden opportunity for Rutgers with just over 10 minutes after a corner kick found her at the back post, but her header went over the crossbar.
In the dying minutes of the contest, Tiernan dribbled into Maine’s box and was tripped up by the keeper, winning a penalty. Tiernan calmly finished the chance into the bottom right corner to seal the game.
After today's meeting, Tiernan is only four assists away from becoming the program assist leader. She now has back-to-back games with a goal and an assist.
"Our chemistry on the field is really good," Tiernan said. "Just knowing where our players are and what we're good at is important. We're playing really good all around and we're very adaptable."
Banks, along with her backline, did a great job in earning the team's second straight shutout.
"Something that we really pride ourselves on is clean sheets," Banks said. "We always tell our back line to make sure there are no shots, services, or goals and just put our body on the line and we've been doing that very well."
In their final non-conference match, the Knights will be looking for a third straight win at home when they face off against NC State next Sunday. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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