Rutgers pulled off an incredible upset led by goalkeeping heroics to take them to the Big Ten tournament final. They will play UCLA in the championship game in St. Louis, Missouri on Sunday.
This was the Trojan’s second loss of the season with their only other coming against Stanford, formerly the No. 1-ranked team in the country. The Trojans were surely particularly disappointed with the result against Rutgers considering they were the favorites ahead of kickoff.
The first half was both even and uneventful. Despite USC controlling possession, shots between the two were fairly even with six shots for Rutgers (two on goal) and five shots for the Trojans, who put three on target. Despite creating plenty of chances, neither team capitalized, which led to a scoreless first half.
In the second half, the game took a drastic turn. The Trojans opened the scoring in the 47th minute when senior forward Simone Jackson slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net following a deflected cross from graduate forward/midfielder Hannah Griffin.
Following the goal, in the 49th minute, star player for the Scarlet Knights senior forward Riley Tiernan had a shot on goal blocked from outside the box. After her shot, Tiernan stomped on a USC defender and received a red card for violent conduct.
Despite the huge blow to Rutgers as they lost their season points leader, the Scarlet Knights quickly responded with a goal of their own. Sophomore forward Ashley Baran crossed the ball across the face of the goal into the bottom corner off a headed through ball assist from graduate midfielder Sydney Urban.
USC tried to break down 10-woman Rutgers in the closing half an hour unsuccessfully, even with the increasing attacking pressure the Trojans applied.
The winner would not be found in regular time, as the first 90 minutes ended with a 1-1 scoreline. The semi final would head to a golden goal overtime period in the highly competitive fixture.
In the first half of overtime in the 10th minute, USC senior forward Maile Hayes almost found the back of the net off a half-volley but her shot was deflected off the post. USC dominated the first period of overtime, but they ultimately couldn’t find the back of the net.
There would still be no score in the second period of overtime after an excellent defensive performance from the 10-woman Scarlet Knights, taking the game to a penalty shoot out.
During the penalty shootout, sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer put an exclamation point on her performance saving all three Trojan penalties attempts while Rutgers penalty takers went three for three. USC graduate goalkeeper Laurence Gladu got her fingertips on two of the three penalties but ultimately failed to save any. This led to the Scarlet Knights upsetting the Trojans after winning the penalty shootout 3-0.
Despite the result, USC consistently threatened going forward, registering 26 total shots with nine of them being on goal. They forced seven saves and three shootout saves out of Bodmer, who had a heroic, game-winning performance.
In their shocking win, Rutgers were less dominant going forward and had to grind out the result, with eleven shots of their own and five of them being on target, largely being kept quiet in the second half as the Knights were down a player. Gladu also had a good performance of her own with four saves on the day.
After the loss, USC will have felt they were the better team throughout the game. Rutgers will be incredibly proud of their performance, as they managed to fight through a red card and still defeated a highly ranked opponent.
The Scarlet Knights will face UCLA on Sunday, November 10 at Energizer Park in St. Louis for Big Ten Championship honors.
Fortunately for the Trojans, their season is not yet over as they will hope to avenge their Big Ten Tournament loss in the NCAA National tournament. They will be striving for their third ever national championship and attempt to earn the title of best in the nation come playoff time.