Becci Fluchel fired a penalty kick past Wisconsin goalkeeper Erin McKinney at 13:30 to give the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 early lead on Senior Day at Yurcak Field. That goal would prove to be the game winning tally, as the RU defense and senior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland held the Badgers in check on their way to a 2-0 victory in the final home match of the season. For McClelland, it was the forty-third clean sheet of her career.
On a sunny autumn day, the pregame festivities honored Rutgers seniors Allison Lynch, Emily Smith, Adriana Kuryla, Hailey Gutowski, Niamh Cashin, Grace Walter as well as McClelland, who logged all 90 minutes and made five saves on her way to the shutout victory.
While the defense was stout, the offense was key to controlling the tempo of the game, keeping the Badgers bottled up in their own end. The Scarlet Knights collected 15 total shots in the match, with junior Sara Brocious providing the insurance goal at 49:54, giving Rutgers the two-goal advantage.
Frustrated by the Knights’ defense and McClelland’s stellar goaltending, the play turned physical and chippy, with the Badgers collecting 15 fouls, including a red card collected by sophomore defender Aiden McConnell.
But despite the fact that juniors accounted for all of the Scarlet Knights’ scoring, this day belonged to the seniors, who received a rousing ovation from the crowd of 722 fans at Yurcak Field.
With the victory, the Scarlet Knights move to 13-1-2 overall, and will travel to Michigan to prepare for their final regular season matchups. The Knights will be in Ann Arbor against Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 20 for a 7 p.m. game against the Wolverines. They will then move on to East Lansing for the final regular season match against the Spartans on Sunday, Oct. 23. Game time for the clash against Michigan State is set for 2 p.m.
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