No. 5 Rutgers women’s soccer advances to Elite Eight in shootout win over No. 8 TCU

No. 5 Rutgers women’s soccer advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015 in a dramatic shootout over No. 8 TCU. In front of 2,892 fans in attendance at Yurcak Field, the Scarlet Knights won the shootout 5-4 in seven frames to advance.

With both Rutgers and TCU making their first four penalty kick attempts in the shootout, goalkeeper Meagan McClelland made three consecutive saves while Allison Lowrey scored the decisive penalty kick in the seventh frame to send RU through.

Goalkeeper Meagan McClelland made eight saves in the game in addition to the three saves in the shootout. She also scored in the shootout for Rutgers along with Becci Fluchel, Amirah Ali, Riley Tiernan and Lowrey.

The Scarlet Knights took an early 1-0 lead after Amirah Ali scored in the 39th minute off an assist from Sam Kroeger.

TCU almost tied the game with this sequence before McClelland made a strong save off her line, followed by Gabby Provenzano making a great kick save as well.

Rutgers held the lead all the way until the 85th minute when Camryn Lancaster scored off an assist from Gracie Brian.

TCU attacked throughout the game and held a 21-12 shot advantage including a 8-9 edge in shots on goal. The Horned Frogs also held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.

No. 1 seed Rutgers (19-3-1) will host No. 2 seed Arkansas (19-4-0), who beat No. 3 seed Notre Dame 3-2, next weekend for a chance to advance to the College Cup. The matchup will take place Friday, November 26 at 7:00 p.m. at Yurcak Field. Stay tuned for more coverage this week ahead of Friday’s quarterfinal.