October 22, 2011
REACHING THE POST-SEASON
Rutgers women tie, make BE tourney

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – In a physical, high-intensity match, the Rutgers women tied Seton Hall, 2-2, at Yurcak Field on Friday night. RU secured the No. 5 seed in the Big East Tournament and will find out its first-round opponent Saturday.

“We are happy to still be playing and to give our seniors at least one more match,” Rutgers coach Glenn Crooks said. “When you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. I’m proud of this team. There was a string of games where we could not finish, and this team battled through adversity to get here.”

Seton Hall (8-7-3, 4-6-1) got on the board first three minutes after halftime. Ashley Clarke crossed the ball to Taylor Wilson up top, who pushed it to Stephanie Soma on the left side. The forward headed the ball into the bottom left of the net, past junior goalkeeper Emmy Simpkins (Concord, N.C.).

Rutgers (8-7-3, 3-5-3) answered in the 50th minute as senior Julie Lancos (Belford, N.J.) booted a corner kick into the box. Keeper Jennifer Pettigrew tried to intercept the pass, but could not handle it and sophomore Tori Leigh (Hamilton, N.J.) blasted a shot from eight yards out for her first career score.

The Pirates looked to gain the advantage in the 72nd minute, as Wilson sent a soaring corner kick into the box that Simpkins could not get her hands on. A streaking Kristina Meier tapped the ball into the right side of the net to give SHU a 2-1 lead.

The Scarlet Knights equalized 56 seconds later. Redshirt junior Stefanee Pace (Kearny, N.J.) earned a free kick on the left side, crossing it to the opposite side of the box. Senior Jasmine Edwards (San Diego, Calif.) pushed the ball to Ashley Medcalf (Waipahu, Hawaii), cutting down the middle of the box. The senior midfielder flicked the ball into the top right of the net to tie the game.

Redshirt junior April Price (Mechanicsville, Va.) nearly ended the game in the 107th minute, sending a laser towards the net from 30 yards. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced towards the line, but the Pirates were able to send it out of danger.

Freshman Stef Scholz (South Hackensack, N.J.) hit the post on a rocketed shot at 85:09. The ball hit the inside of the bar and squirted out.

There were 26 fouls and three yellow cards issued. Simpkins made five saves.

Five RU seniors – Edwards, Lancos, Medcalf, Casey Rupon (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) and Karla Schacher (Tofield, Alberta, Canada) – were honored before the game. All five earned the start, including Rupon in net.

The Scarlet Knights await the outcome of the Providence/Connecticut match. St. John’s defeated Syracuse, 2-0, on Friday. Depending on the result, RU will either travel to Providence, R.I., Storrs, Conn., or Queens, N.Y. on Thursday for the first round.