Battling elements, Rutgers Women's Soccer falls to Penn State, 2-0
Penn State’s Ally Schlegel picked up the rebound after Rutgers’ goalkeeper Meagan McClelland made an initial save, and buried the ball at 8:26 in the bottom right of the net to give the Nittany Lions the early lead as No. 17 PSU defeated the Scarlet Knights on a rain-soaked field in front of 639 fans.
No. 4 ranked Rutgers ran into a Penn State squad that by virtue of their victory, now owns the tiebreaker over the Scarlet Knights in their quest to repeat as champions of the Big Ten Conference.
Penn State, which is now 6-0-0 when scoring first this season, withstood a ferocious onslaught from the Knights, who managed to fire off 10 shots in the first half. But Nittany Lions goalkeeper Katherine Asman made saves on every shot on goal, posting a clean sheet against the Scarlet Knights.
As the first half drew to a close, Schlegel’s early goal stood up as the Scarlet Knights trailed 1-0 after the initial forty-five minutes of play. It was the third time this season that Rutgers trailed at the half, but the quality of the opponent, the lack of home field and the challenging weather conditions gave this match a little more urgency. Until this contest, the Scarlet Knights had always come back in games earlier this season, with second-half performances that delighted fans and dashed the hopes of the opposition.
However, the weather and the opponent proved too much in the tenth game of the season. Still leading by the score of 1-0, PSU added an insurance tally at 53:53 when forward Penelope Hocking sent one into the net to put the Nittany Lions up by two goals.
As the rain continued the conditions deteriorated, so did the hopes of the Scarlet Knights. Penn State was content to simply disrupt the flow of the Rutgers offense, as the Knights fought against the clock, the weather, and the increasingly physical play of the Nittany Lions. As a result, the Knights could only manage three shots in the second half of the match.
Now 9-1, the Scarlet Knights will need to get assistance from other members of the conference in order to capture the regular season crown. The Nittany Lions will next play host to Illinois and Michigan State before heading off to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Rutgers will need to regroup and get ready to host the 2-2-5 Maryland Terrapins on Sunday, Sept. 25 in Piscataway. The game is set for 1:00 p.m. at Yurcak Field, with the current weather forecast calling for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the seventies.
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