Rutgers women's soccer looks to continue win streak in battle against No. 1 Michigan State
The Rutgers women’s soccer team will face Michigan State on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (8-1-1, 4-0-0) will have to be at the top of their game to defeat the Spartans (8-0-3, 3-0-1), who are currently ranked at the top of the NCAA women’s soccer rankings.
Rutgers is coming off a 1-0 shutout win over Michigan in Ann Arbor and now heads about an hour northwest to East Lansing to battle No. 1 Michigan State. The Knights are red-hot, currently riding a seven-game winning streak.
For the Spartans, Emily Mathews and Meg Hughes have 6 goals apiece this season, tied for the team lead. Hughes also has four assists thus far, good for the second-most on the team. Michigan State has also benefited greatly from Justina Gaynor, who leads the team with five assists.
Between the posts for the Spartans will be Kaitlyn Parks, who was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week just a few days ago. She has made 38 saves on the year and has a 0.89 goals-against average.
While Michigan State sits atop the nation in the rankings and remains undefeated, Rutgers has also assembled a cohesive, well-developed team that will surely make things interesting on Sunday.
Senior back Emily Mason has been named the Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Freshman midfielder Shaela Bradley also received her first recognition as a Knight, being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Junior midfielder Allie Post continues to lead Rutgers with 4 goals this season. Senior forward Riley Tiernan trails behind with 3 goals and has dished out seven assists.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer has been at the top of her game, not giving up a single goal throughout the Knights’ seven-game win streak. Bodmer has started in all ten of Rutgers’ games this season, allowing just 2 goals and saving approximately 93 percent of shots that come her way.
The Knights have lost both of their last two matchups with the Spartans in 2023 and 2022, but Rutgers has dominated the all-time series winning 8 of 10 overall.
The matchup between Michigan State and the Knights will begin at noon on Sunday. The game will be available to stream on Big Ten Plus.
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