The most successful sports program at Rutgers University has had its season come to an end. Having taken their fellow students, alumni and fans on a roller coaster ride of thrills over the past three months, the Rutgers women’s soccer team saw their dream of a national title end in their NCAA Tournament Semi-Final game against No. 1 ranked Florida State.
Head coach Mark Krikorian brought his team into Stevens Stadium (Santa Clara, California) and had the Seminoles prepared for the Big Ten Champion Scarlet Knights. From the outset, Florida State set about putting their game plan in action.
But it wasn’t going to be easy for them. Beginning in a 4-2-4 alignment, Rutgers dropped into a 2-4-4 once FSU crossed midfield, clogging the passing lanes to force turnovers.
Early on, as it has been all post season, the familiar trinity for Rutgers were the ones making the biggest contributions. The offense for the Knights consisted of forward Riley Tiernan blazing down the left sideline to create offensive chances and Amirah Ali controlling the ball that led to two and even three opponents being drawn to her, providing chances for others. Finally, goalkeeper Meagan McClelland—seemingly psychic in goal—appeared to know where shots would be before they were taken.
Florida State appeared frustrated, managing only four shots on goal in the first half, which ended level in a 0-0 tie.
In the second half, both teams appeared to be determined to open up against the opposition. As a result, offensive chances started to materialize at both ends. When Amirah Ali danced in on goal early in the second half, she fired a shot low to the left of the sophomore goalkeeper Cristina Roque, forcing the FSU netminder to make a spectacular diving save to maintain the tie.
When FSU carried the ball in deep, the Scarlet Knights defense quickly closed in, with sophomore Emma Misal, junior Allison Lynch and freshman Emily Mason ending the threats.
But that type of effort comes at a tremendous cost in physical energy, and as the clock wound down, so did the RU defense.
With under 25 minutes to play in regulation, Florida State began to get their offensive chances, backing up RU in their own zone. With their second corner kick in less than 30 seconds, FSU finally put the ball past McClelland as senior Jaelin Howell knocked one in off her right foot to give the Seminoles the lead 1-0 at 70:55.
But rather than sit back into a tight defense, FSU continued the attack, maintaining the pressure and the possession to keep the Knights off balance. When Rutgers finally got a glimpse of the FSU goal with 13 minutes left to play, they were able to fire two shots on net within nine seconds, but both times Roque was equal to the task for FSU.
As regulation time clicked away, the Scarlet Knights became frenzied in their offensive attack, but they could not deliver the equalizer. When Allison Lowery took the final shot of the 2021 season and it when off target, the dream of a Rutgers national title died on Buck Shaw Field.
So now head coach Mike O’Neill will return to, and re-strategize about how to, move the RU program forward. He will need to assess how to minimize the loss of arguably the most talented group of seniors, as a whole, that the Scarlet Knights have ever had. The program welcomes a recruiting class that includes goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer, midfielder Allie Post and defender Naïla Schoefberger, but their debut will not be until 2022.
An undefeated run through the Big Ten, a conference title and an appearance in the Final Four is no small accomplishment. For a time, they will seem to be mere consolation prizes in the face of this loss, when the team was two wins away from the ultimate prize. Eventually, the heartbreak of the season’s end will fade, but the pride held by the university and memory of the special ride this talented group of young athletes took the fans on will always remain.
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