Rutgers will not be taking a share of the Big Ten title in women’s soccer in 2021, and the reason is simple.
Because they’ve taken it outright.
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Less than a week after the Scarlet Knights eked out a 1-0 victory on Senior Day at Yurcak Field to earn a share of the conference title, the Rutgers women took care of business on the road against the (9-3-4) Hoosiers in Bloomington, Indiana to claim undisputed sole possession of the Big 10 title. Before the season, the likelihood of such an event would have seemed about as plausible as a 90-year-old actor getting shot into space.
Going in, the Scarlet Knights knew that the Hoosiers would not simply be pushovers. In fact, Indiana’s success this year has come in much the same manner as the Scarlet Knights—by playing tight defense while outscoring opponents 23-8, paced byforwards Jen Blitchok and Jordyn Levy as well as midfielder Paige Webber. By comparison, Rutgers has outpaced opponents 47-12 this season, with senior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland having posted 7 shutouts. Tonight, the Scarlet defense again dominated, shutting down potential Hoosier threats before they fully formed while RU’s talented seniors found ways to score.
Both teams had difficulty in finding scoring chances in the first 15 minutes, and it wasn’t until Frankie Tagliaferri put two shots on goal in less than a minute that Indiana’s starting goalkeeper, Caitlin Arbuckle, faced any real challenges. But those shots, coming more than 15 minutes into the game,appeared to spark the Scarlet Knights, and when future Rutgers Hall of Famer Amirah Ali scored in the bottom left of goal at 21:11, RU slowly seemed to gain the edge in a hard-fought defensive first half of play.
From the outset of the second half, RU, dressed in theirblack jerseys, looked to make life difficult for Indiana. Like sharks sensing blood in the water, the Knights circled around thepitch at Yeagley Field, and when Allison Lynch found Tagliaferri in front of the goal, she put a shot past Arbuckle at 50:20 to increase their lead to 2-0. For the Colts Neck, New Jersey native, it was her twelfth tally of the season.
From there, the defense promptly took over the match, with the Hoosiers managing only 2 shots on goal in the second half. The game was McClelland’s eighth shutout on the season, but one that put the Knights solely atop the Conference, and provided Rutgers University its first undisputed Big Ten title.
For the Knights, it was their tenth straight victory, the longest such streak in the history of the program. The Big Ten Conference Champion Scarlet Knights are next in action Sunday Oct. 24 against Illinois to close out their historic regular season.
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