Rutgers women's soccer looking to extend unbeaten streak to 9 games against No. 19 Penn State
The Rutgers women's soccer team remains undefeated after earning a draw at Michigan State this past Sunday. The equalizing goal from redshirt freshman midfielder Gabriela Gil, Big Ten Freshman of the Week, in the 86th minute was enough to leave the team with a point at the end of the 90 minutes. The Scarlet Knights (8-1-2, 4-0-1) will now head to Penn State for the final away game of their three-game road stretch.
After the draw to the Spartans (8-0-4, 3-0-2), Rutgers is still undefeated in its five conference games. The Knights have shown their defensive prowess by only conceding 1 goal and scoring 7 in those five games. Their last matchup against then-No. 1 Michigan State was very tough and the first time Rutgers has been down a goal since its loss against UMass back in August. The Knights are now tied with three other teams at the top of the Big Ten table with 13 points.
Rutgers' defense has been its strong suit this season. In 11 games, the Knights have put 17 goals in the net and have only conceded 3. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer's save percentage of 90.6 is the best in the Big Ten among goalkeepers with at least 10 games played. Bodmer was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the week for her efforts.
Now going up against Penn State, Rutgers has one more ranked away game before its next spell of home games back at Yurcak Field on Busch campus. The Nittany Lions (9-3-1, 3-2) are coming off a close 1-0 win against Nebraska. The game's lone goal came from Mieke Schiemann on a free kick just outside the box. Both of their conference losses have come against ranked opponents, one of them being Michigan State.
No. 19 Penn State remains a ranked team, with a large part of that due to its top goal scorer, Kaitlyn MacBean. She's already netted 10 goals, the third-most in the entire conference. The Nittany Lions are also tied for second in the Big Ten for most goals at 27 and best differential at 19. They have also fired off the most shots on the season with 215.
Friday's road trip finale for the Knights will kick off at 5 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
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