Freshman Shaela Bradley scored her first collegiate goal at 26:54 of the first half to give Rutgers a 1-0 lead, on a tally that would end up being the game winner as the Scarlet Knights shut out the Maine Black Bears on Sunday afternoon.
While the rest of the Garden State may have been enjoying a relaxing Sunday during the long Labor Day holiday weekend, that was not the case for the Scarlet Knights women’s soccer team.
Undefeated Maine (2-0-2) came into the match against Rutgers and immediately took control of the game, pressing on offense and forcing RU goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer to make a diving save within the first two minutes of the contest.
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But it was the Scarlet Knights who drew first blood, as senior Riley Tiernan raced down the right side of the pitch and drew the defense towards her. Once they had committed, Tiernan made a superb pass to a wide-open Bradley, who easily buried the ball into the back of the net to give Rutgers the one-goal lead.
Less than eight minutes later, the Knights scored again as senior Kylie Daigle first faked a shot, then rifled it past Maine goalkeeper Jessica Kasacek at 33:17 to give RU a 2-0 advantage.
After once again neutralizing the Bears’ attack to begin the second half, the Scarlet Knights gained control in the second stanza, buzzing around the Maine net, looking for the goal that would put the game on ice.
That effort came to fruition late in the second half when Tiernan was awarded a penalty kick after being fouled by Kasacek at 83:40. With the opportunity from point blank range, Tiernan easily put the ball past Kasacek for the final tally of the match, 3-0.
Senior Gia Girman was again absent from the match as she served the second game of her three-game suspension.
The Scarlet Knights have one final non-conference game when they go against N.C. State on Sunday, September 8. The match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Yurcak Field and will be carried on the Big Ten Plus network. The Knights begin their Big Ten slate of games beginning on Thursday, September 12 against Wisconsin. The match against the Badgers is the first of 11 conference games that Rutgers will play this season.
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