Red-hot Rutgers women's soccer returns home to face Nebraska, No. 9 Iowa this week
The Rutgers women's soccer team will return home this week after playing its last three games on the road. The Scarlet Knights (8-1-3, 4-0-2) will play Nebraska and Iowa in their next games in an attempt to maintain their undefeated conference record.
Rutgers' Big Ten standing was further enhanced last week when it drew against Michigan State and Penn State, not collecting a single loss yet against a conference opponent. The Knights remain tied with two opponents in the Big Ten standings with 14 points while trailing three other teams with 16 points in first place.
Rutgers has demonstrated its strength as a team this season by being able to tie two highly ranked opponents and will look to carry that momentum into the following games.
The Knights will first face the Cornhuskers (4-7-1, 1-4-1) on Thursday night. Nebraska has struggled this season, with its lone conference win against Illinois.
The Cornhuskers picked up their first draw of the season when they played Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, tying 2-2. Abbey Schwarz and Florence Belzile scored 2 goals for Nebraska during the game. Though she didn't find the back of the net in the last game, Sara Weber leads the Cornhuskers with 7 goals scored this season.
Nebraska and Rutgers have a history of tying each other in their games. In eight all-time matchups, a team has only won once, with the other seven games ending in draws. That one victory was in 2021 when the Knights pulled off a 1-0 win over the Cornhuskers.
Following Thursday's matchup, Rutgers will remain at home for a matchup against the Hawkeyes (10-0-3, 5-0-1). No. 9 Iowa has ended up in Big Ten standings, where it currently sits tied for first place with USC and UCLA.
The Hawkeyes will meet with Wisconsin before traveling to New Jersey for Sunday's matchup. The team is coming off a 1-0 win against Indiana, with Maya Hansen scoring the game's lone goal.
Berit Parten leads her team with 6 goals scored this season, followed by Hansen with 5. Meike Ingles, who tops the team with four assists, has been a big help to her teammates near the net.
The Knights are 7-4 all-time against Iowa, previously falling 1-0 against the Hawkeyes last season in Iowa City. Both teams have had early success this season, so this matchup has the potential to be a tight one.
Rutgers will start the week off on Thursday with its matchup against Nebraska. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. Sunday's tilt against the Hawkeyes will begin at 1 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus. Both games will also be broadcast on 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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