Women’s Soccer Tops Purdue, 1-0

The Scarlet Knights looked to get in the win column on a rainy, windy, dreary afternoon at Yurcak Field versus the Purdue Boilermakers. Rutgers lost its first Big Ten game, 3-2, at Indiana, rallying from a 2-nil deficit to tie the match up, only to concede a late goal.

The Scarlet Knights took on No. 5 Penn State at home this past Thursday but again found themselves trailing 2-0 early. After a lackluster first half, Rutgers showed more competitive energy in the second, with a healthy Sam Kroeger notching her first goal of the season and almost tying the match up in the waning seconds. The Knights ultimately fell, 2-1, and found themselves in a very unfamiliar position in the conference standings: 0-2 and on the outside looking up. Teams must place in the top eight in the final standings to make the conference tournament.

On Sunday, the Scarlet Knights ensured they weren’t playing catchup most of the game. All-American and fully healthy backer Emily Mason put a shot past Boilermaker keeper Charlotte Cyr in the second minute off a corner from Riley Tiernan to put the Knights up 1-nil, and that score would hold up on a windy and rain-soaked day.

Purdue outshot Rutgers for the match, 19-10, but only put six on the net. Knights goalie Olivia Bodmer stopped them all. Bodmer made a nice stop inside the right post in the 15th minute and a spectacular save in the 71st minute to preserve the lead. Zoie Allen fired from 25 yards out toward the upper-right 90, but Bodmer fully extended for the save to keep the Boilermakers off the board.

Rutgers had their own chances to pad their lead - a free kick in the 26th minute that Kroeger rocketed over the defense but Cyr was able to corral. In the 76th minute, Allison Lowrey out-hustled the Boilermaker defense for the ball in front of the net and tapped a shot toward the empty goal past a diving Cyr. As has been the case this season, the ball bounced off the right post, and Rutgers was denied the insurance.

With the victory, the Knights picked up a crucial three points and will look to keep their momentum this Thursday in Lincoln as they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT), airing live across the country on the Big Ten Network.

Notable

• Another stellar performance from Bodmer. Her six-save shutout propelled the Knights to victory.
• All five of Rutgers’ wins this season have come via shutout. The victory over Purdue marks the third 1-0 win of 2023 and highlights the issues on the offensive side of the ball.
• Tiernan recorded her 50th collegiate point with her 20th career assist, moving into a seventh-place tie all-time at Rutgers with Nicole Whitley (2016-18). Tiernan is nine assists away from tying the program record of 29 career assists set by Gina DeMaio from 2006-10.