Rutgers Women’s Soccer Defeats Purdue 2-1, Finishes In 2nd Place In Big Ten

It was senior day at Yurcak Field and the Scarlet Knights finished the regular season in victorious fashion, closing out a 2-1 win over Purdue with a goal in the final minutes of the game. Rutgers completed a second place finish in conference play with a 7-1-3 record and overall went 11-2-5.

After a scoreless first half, Rutgers got on the board in the 63rd minute with a goal from junior Amanda Visco, who headed in the corner kick from senior Madison Pogarch. Purdue tied the game in the 76th minute with a goal from Kylie Hase from close range. The score was tied at 1 late in regulation and it seemed Rutgers was headed to a program record 12th overtime game this season. However, sophomore midfielder Gabby Provenzano has other ideas. After a shot from Amirah Ali was blocked by Purdue goalkeeper Katie Luce, Nneka Moneme collected the deflection and found Provenzano, who finished right at the goal line.

Rutgers outshot Purdue 8-4 in the game and held a 5-0 edge in corner kicks as well.

With Penn State defeating Minnesota 2-0 on Sunday, they won the Big Ten regular season title outright. With a loss to Ohio State, Wisconsin fell behind Rutgers, clinching an outright second place finish. They were picked to finish third in the preseason poll. The Scarlet Knights had the fewest losses in conference play this season.

The Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals begins this coming weekend and Rutgers is assured a home game. With a few more conference games to be played by other schools, the opponent and full bracket won’t be announced until Wednesday. To hear head coach Mike O’Neill talk about this team ahead of postseason play, click here for our latest podcast episode with host Lance Glinn.