Rutgers women's soccer blanked in Big Ten Tournament Championship defeat to No. 9 UCLA
Fourth time's the charm was not the case on Sunday, as the Rutgers women's soccer team fell 5-0 to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. The Scarlet Knights (11-4-5, 6-2-3) were without program assist leader and senior forward Riley Tiernan and struggled to break down a Bruins (16-3-3, 8-1-2) backline that has conceded just 7 goals this season, the fewest in the nation.
No. 9 UCLA set the tone early with a goal from Val Vargas in the 7th minute. Kara Croone played a pass over to Vargas, who shot it into the bottom left corner with her left foot, leaving redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer flat-footed.
The Bruins made it 2-0 in the 41st minute, as Taylor Cheatham dribbled past Bodmer and shot the ball into the open net, which sophomore midfielder Patricia Tsokos blocked. But the deflection fell back to Cheatham, and she struck the ball into goal.
The first half went from bad to worse for Rutgers, as UCLA made it 3-0 seconds before halftime. About halfway into the Knights' half, Jordan Geis blasted the ball perfectly into the top left corner. It was a stunning but gut-wrenching goal, as Rutgers conceded with 3 seconds left in the first half.
The Bruins were in complete control of the contest, with the Knights only attempting four shots in the first half, none of which were on target.
Rutgers thought it scored its 1st goal in the 53rd minute. UCLA goalkeeper Ryan Campbell saved sophomore forward Ashley Baran's shot, but the ball looked like it crossed the line. After VAR review, the referee deemed that the ball didn't cross the line.
The Bruins almost made it 4-0 in the 68th minute, as Sunshine Fontes caused a Knights turnover. She passed the ball over to Maya Evans, who rattled her shot off the crossbar, much to Rutgers' delight.
But 1 minute later, UCLA scored its 4th goal and struck another dagger in the hearts of the Knights. The Bruins crossed the ball into the box to Lily Boyden, who headed the ball past Bodmer for her 1st goal of the season.
Rutgers conceded a 5th goal in the 83rd minute via Sophie Reale.
The Knights finished the game with six shots and two on target, while UCLA had 15 shots with nine on goal.
It was Rutgers' fourth Big Ten Championship since joining the conference in 2014, but the program has yet to emerge victorious and lift a title. It was also the first time the Knights conceded 5 goals in a game since a 6-0 defeat to Virginia on Sep. 6, 2013.
Rutgers will now look ahead to the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Friday.
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