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The Rutgers women’s soccer team won it’s second consecutive game in Big Ten play in dramatic fashion, defeating Maryland (3-5-3; 1-2-0) 2-1 in overtime on Sunday. A week before, the Scarlet Knights produced a golden goal with just seconds remaining to beat Iowa for the first conference win of the season. In both cases, star forward Amirah Ali played the role of hero.
The game was scoreless well into the second half, until Ali found teammate Nneka Moneme, who produced her third goal of the season on this play.
Amirah Ali ➡️ Nneka Moneme ➡️GOAL!
— RutgersWomensSoccer (@RUWSoccer) September 23, 2018
Moneme scores her third goal of the season to give #RFutbol a 1-0 lead at Maryland! #NoRetreat pic.twitter.com/Yj3LdzdHqD
The Terps responded by tying the game in the 86th minute, when Anissa Mose scored off of a rebound. The match went into overtime and Rutgers found magic once again.
In a repeat of last week, captain Kenie Wright found Ali on the attack and the uber-talented sophomore found the back of the net for a walk-off victory on the road! Rutgers won the game just one minute into extra time.
VICTORY!! Amirah Ali lifts RU to victory in overtime for the second consecutive match! Kenie Wright feeds the play yet again! #RFutbol 2, Maryland 1 pic.twitter.com/TkNzbEX58N
— RutgersWomensSoccer (@RUWSoccer) September 23, 2018
Rutgers (6-1-3; 2-0-1) led its opponent in shots taken once again, something they’ve done in every game this season. The held a 13-6 edge in shots and a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Ali leads the team with 7 goals and 16 points this season. Moneme is now second on the squad with 3 goals this season and Wright registered her 5th assist of the season in the victory.
The Scarlet Knights stay on the road with a big weekend trip ahead. On Thursday, Rutgers will play at #17 Wisconsin (8-2-1; 2-1-1), followed by Minnesota (6-4-1; 2-1-1) on Sunday. All three schools are currently tied for second place with seven points heading into next weekend, but RU has played one less match. The only other unbeaten team besides Rutgers in Big Ten play is Nebraska (7-3-2; 3-0-1). Those two programs tied 1-1 on September 14th. Mike O’Neill’s team can take a major step forward towards winning the Big Ten regular season title by playing well this weekend. The Wisconsin match will air live this Thursday, September 27th at 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.