It was about the best weekend start that the Rutgers Women’s Soccer team could hope for, as they took both games on their opening road trip.
After showing their defensive prowess in a 1-0 victory in their opening night matchup against New Mexico, the Knights came back with an offensive explosion on Sunday, posting a 5-1 victory over UNLV. Forward Gia Girman’s goal at 1:01 and a subsequent goal by Sara Brocious at 18:31 would prove to be all that Rutgers needed, as goalkeeper Meagan McClelland held the Rebels to one goal that came late in the second half.
Junior forward Allison Lowery had a stellar offensive day, posting a goal and two assists as the Scarlet Knights improved to 2-0 on the season, while UNLV dropped to 0-2.
Leading 2-0 off the Girman and Brocious goals, Rutgers went up 3-0 when junior Sam Kroger got her first goal of the season at 25:20. Lowery then put the Knights up 4-0 at 30:38, and Rutgers cruised into the break with a comfortable lead.
Scoring slowed in the second half as the Knights looked to control the ball and shorten the contest, but the Rebels ruined McClelland’s bid for a second shutout when freshman forward Cadence Whitley scored at 75:48 off a feed from senior Marley Salveter. The shutout thwarted, the Knights removed McClelland for the balance of the contest as sophomore goalkeeper Cameron Kennett saw her first action of the season.
Just over a minute later, Rutgers ended the scoring when star forward Riley Tiernan collected her second assist of the contest on forward Hailey Gutowski’s first goal of the season at 79:59. Gutowski, a graduate student transfer from Temple, has collected four shots in her two games with the Knights this season.
With a comfortable lead and his team playing exceptional defense, head coach Mike O’Neill was afforded the opportunity to get younger players into the match for some game experience. First-year players Hannah Blodget, Naila Schoefberger, and Mallory McGuire all saw their first action of the season, while senior transfer Naya Vialva and graduate student transfer Emily Smith also made their Rutgers debut appearances during the match.
Rutgers will now travel across the country to play yet another road match against Providence on August 25 at 6 p.m. Providence opened the season with a 1-0 victory over Colgate on August 18, but then saw their record fall to 1-1 after a road loss to Boston University, 2-1, on August 21.
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