University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Rutgers
Gophers Fall to Scarlet Knights
10/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
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Oct. 23, 2015
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - The No. 19 University of Minnesota women's soccer team fell to the No. 12 Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University 3-1 Friday night at Yurcak Field.
The Maroon and Gold are now 11-4-3 overall and 6-3-1 in Big Ten play.
"Credit to Rutgers, they are a very good team, maybe the best team we have played all year back to front," said head coach Stefanie Golan. "They are extremely organized defensively and it is tough to get quality looks in the run of play against them. Ninety percent of the goals they have given up on the year have been on corners and we capitalized on one in the first half."
Minnesota got on board first, as junior Josee Stiever netted the first goal of the match off a corner kick from sophomore Maddie Gaffney and header in the box from sophomore Tori Burnett.
Despite their efforts, the Gophers were unable to find the back of the net through the remainder of the match, as Rutgers scored before half to even things up and again in the 57th and 59th-minute of play.
The Scarlet Knights' first goal was an unassisted ball by junior Jessica Puchalski, her first of the season.
Rutgers' second tally, pulling them ahead was credit to junior Erin Smith, who booted 20-yards out to the top left of the net.
Two minutes later, Smith assisted sophomore Colby Ciarrocca from inside the 18, for the final tally of the night, 3-1.
"We played really well in the first half, but Rutgers played a better second half," said Golan. "Both of their goals in the second were struck extremely well to the back post. They got behind into space we opened up in transition, we didn't adjust quickly enough and they capitalized on great strikes. They are an excellent team and in the top five of the RPI for a reason."
On the night, the Gophers tallied five shots, earned four corner kicks, made five saves and had six fouls.
Stiever contributed four shots to the Gophers' total and freshman Molly Fiedler added one.
In goal, junior goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs' record moves to 10-4-3.
"As a coaching staff, we are going to turn the page to Illinois and figure out how to best prepare our team for that game," said Golan. "We have demonstrated over the course of the season that we have the capability of being a great team and it is our job to set our team up for success. We believe in this group and believe that we have a lot of good soccer left to play. We have only lost 4 games on the year, so we are going to get refocused to extend our season as long as possible."
LOOKING AHEAD
For the final home game of the regular season, Minnesota will host the Fighting Illini on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
Upon qualification, the Gophers could head to the Big Ten Championships. The quarterfinal round will feature four games on Sunday, Nov. 1. The semifinal round will be played on Friday, Nov. 6 with the championship set for Nov. 8.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Are you following the Gophers on the road or from home? Make sure to follow @GopherSoccer on Twitter and use the team's new hashtag #Unbreakable. You can also check for updates on Facebook and Instagram by "liking" Golden Gopher Soccer on Facebook or following the Gophers on Instagram.
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