Senior Bella Recinos broke a scoreless deadlock with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match, accounting for the only goal of the afternoon as the UMass Minutewomen handed the Scarlet Knights their first loss of the season, 1-0, before a crowd of 486 at Rudd Field.
Looking to find the offensive production that they have been lacking in their first two contests, the Scarlet Knights appeared to come out with a purpose, attempting to impose their will on the 0-2-0 UMass Minutewomen. Rutgers began taking the attack in the early part of the match, employing a physical style that brought them six fouls in just over 30 minutes of the opening period.
Despite that, Massachusetts’ senior goalkeeper Bella Mendoza was equal to the task, keeping the Knights off the board through the first 45 minutes of play.
But RU came out just as aggressive in the second half, with crisp passing leading to increased opportunities in the first five minutes, including a good chance in close for senior Emily Mason, who fired wide of the target.
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The game’s aggressive play broke out into outright fighting as a collision brought out tempers, with RU’s Gia Girman and senior Ashley Lamond mixing it up in a physical altercation that forced referee Stephanie McFarland to eject both players at 54:48 after the scuffle was broken up.
With both sides down a player, there was more open space for plays to develop, but lacking one of their top offensive playmakers, the Scarlet Knights found themselves in a difficult position.
It would fall to the RU defense to keep them in the game, as they looked to squeeze the UMass offense to force a mistake upon which the visitors could capitalize. But, after holding UMass without a shot through the first 80 minutes of the game, the Minutewomen broke through for the first goal of the match as Recinos fired one past RU goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer to take the 1-0 lead at 80:10.
With time waning, the Scarlet Knights went into a frenzied attack, but smart defense and great goalkeeping by Mendoza kept RU off the board, preserving her shutout and giving UMass the victory.
Emblematic of the rough play on the pitch, the game saw 29 total fouls called, with four yellow cards and two red cards assessed in the match. Now 1-1-1 on the season, the Scarlet Knights are back in action Wednesday, August 28 when they host the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, and will be carried on the Big Ten Plus Network.
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