Women’s Soccer Opens Up NCAA Tournament on Saturday
The Big 10 Regular Season Champions are getting set to host Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. from Yurcak Field in Piscataway.
The number 1 seed the Scarlet Knights earned is the highest the program has ever earned for the Big Dance.
Rutgers went 17-3 during the 2021 season, including winning 13 straight games, and were a perfect 10-0 in conference before Michigan upset them in the Big 10 Tournament Championship game last week.
Rutgers is tied for fourth in the nation in goals scored with 55, and is averaging 2.75 goals per game, which qualifies for 9th best in the country at the DI level.
Senior Frankie Tagliaferri leads all RU scorers with 12 goals, 7 assists and 31 points this season. Fellow senior Ali Amirah is right up there with Tagliaferri, with nine goals and five assists. Freshman Riley Tiernan has tallied four goals, 11 assists and 19 points this season.
What has made Rutgers even tougher this year is their play of goalie Megan McClelland who has given up only 13 goals, a 0.67 goals against average all season long. She is one of the best players in the country.
“This team has made history once winning the conference, and we did it again getting the No.1 seed for NCAA Tournament. But in a tournament with talent across the board, there’s no room to slack off and let the energy get low. Right now the focus is to enjoy each other’s company and keep the energy high at practices. We want to treat every single game in this tournament like it’s the final,” Freshman Kylie Daigle told scarletknights.com.
Bucknell comes into the game 11-7-3, but are riding a head of steam as Patriots League Champions. The Bison come into the contest having won four in a row, including two games against Lehigh.
We're headed to Rutgers! #rayBucknell #NCAABound pic.twitter.com/41qdMaHC76
— Bucknell Women’s Soccer (@Bucknell_WSOC) November 8, 2021
In fact all four of their wins during this recent streak have either been the 1-0 or 2-0 variety. Goalie Jenna Hall has been really tough to score on of late. While she has allowed 27 goals on the season, she has pitched shutouts at net in six of her last night starts.
Game time is at 4 p.m., and it will be streamed on BIG 10 Plus.
