Ashley Baran hat trick powers Rutgers women's soccer past Nebraska, extends unbeaten run to 10 games
The Rutgers women's soccer team defeated Nebraska 3-2 Thursday night at Yurcak Field on Busch campus. After trailing in the first half of the match, the Scarlet Knights (9-1-3, 5-0-2) regained the lead in the second half to earn the victory.
The game got to a quick start, with both teams scoring during the opening minutes. In the 4th minute of the game, Rutgers was able to tally the 1st goal.
Assisted by senior forward Gia Girman, sophomore forward Ashley Baran put her shot into the back of the net to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. This wouldn't be the only goal for Baran, though, as she would go on to score every goal for Rutgers in the contest.
Following the Knights' goal, the Cornhuskers (4-8-1, 1-5-1) responded with back-to-back scores to give them the lead over the Knights. Less than a minute after Rutgers scored, Sarah Weber snuck the ball into the net to tie the score.
Entering the 9th minute of the game, Weber found an opening near the net again and launched her offering into the bottom right corner. In less than 10 minutes, both teams had added to the scoreboard, with Nebraska leading 2-1.
After the Cornhuskers' goals, the game remained scoreless for the rest of the half, despite several attempts by the Knights to equalize.
Rutgers came into the second half of the game prepared to mount a comeback against Nebraska. Baran would be the offensive player to change the course of the game.
Approximately 3 minutes separated Baran's 2nd and 3rd goals, bringing her season total to 4. In the 50th minute of the match, Baran struck an unassisted goal into the top of the net to even the score at 2-2.
Baran would make an impact once again in the game's 53rd minute. Girman provided another assist to Baran, who aimed her shot to the top of the net — seemingly her spot during the whole match.
The Knights would take the 3-2 lead and keep it for the remainder of the game, as Baran's first career hat trick gave Rutgers its ninth win of the season. It was also the team's first hat trick since August 2022, when former striker Allison Lowrey scored 3 in a 7-0 rout against FDU.
"It was a must-win game," Baran said. "We tied our past two games, and we know we needed to get a win out of this."
Without senior forward Riley Tiernan in the lineup, Baran said it was a team effort to fill in for the star player.
"She's a key player to the team, and we all know that," she said, on Tiernan's absence. "I think it was a team effort to step up and cover where she was missing tonight."
Despite coming close to scoring again, the Cornhuskers were unsuccessful, as the Knights defense stayed on top of the ball.
Rutgers won its fifth Big Ten game of the year, maintaining its perfect record in conference play while remaining unbeaten in its last 10 matches. Sunday at 1 p.m., the Knights will remain at home and play against Iowa, with the game being aired on Big Ten Plus.
"We felt that we needed to set another standard in the second half and come out and be who we are," said head coach Mike O’Neill. "There's an understanding of the way we wanna play but within that, it was just confidence. Getting your eyes up and seeing the game and believing in being brave to play the game, that's what they did in the second half."
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