To say the Rutgers women’s soccer team is on a roll would be putting it mildly. The Scarlet Knights defeated Michigan State, 1-0, Thursday night. The lone goal was scored 42 seconds after halftime by sophomore forward Ashley Baran. The win improved the Knights record to 8-1-1 overall and they remain undefeated in Big Ten play (4-0) so far this season.
Rutgers has now completed seven consecutive shutouts, having not allowed a goal in their last 640 minutes of play. Thursday night was goaltender Olivia Bodmer’s seventh solo shutout.
Since dropping a 1-0 match to UMass on August 25, the Scarlet Knights have won seven straight, all shutouts, defeating the likes of Lehigh, Maine, NC State, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, and Michigan State. They have outscored their opponents 14-0 in those matches.
Seven straight clean sheets is the longest such stretch for Rutgers since 2017 when they opened the season with nine straight shutouts.
The Scarlet Knights defense has been stellar all season. Led by Emily Mason, Kassidy Banks, Patricia Tsokos, and Claire Hammill, the defense has allowed four shots on goal or less in all 10 games to start the season. The Scarlet Knights are first in the country with a .200 goals-against average. Bodmer has a .929 save percentage through ten games, with a total of 26 saves. She has appeared in net for all but just over five minutes this season. Mason and Banks are the two Scarlet Knights that have played every second of the teams first ten matches.
Offensively, Rutgers is led by senior Riley Tiernan who is currently tied for third in the country with seven assists this season, leading the Big Ten in that category. Junior Allie Post leads the team with four goals scored, while Tiernan has recorded three.
The schedule now amps up a bit for Rutgers as three of their next four games are against nationally ranked opponents. The Scarlet Knights, No. 26 in the NCAA Women’s Soccer RPI rankings, next takes the field on the road against No. 2 Michigan State on Sunday, followed by a road matchup with No. 9 Penn State on October 4. They then return home to Piscataway to host Nebraska on October 10 and No. 6 Iowa on October 13.
* On NJ Sports file photo by Tessa Profahl *
