In a tale of two halves, Northwestern Women’s Soccer (5-6-3, 3-3-1 B1G) continued its road struggles, falling to Rutgers (4-5-3, 3-4-0 B1G) 3-2 on Thursday to kick off the second half of B1G play. NU fell behind early, and despite a valiant effort to make up ground, it got outplayed in the dying moments of the contest.
The Scarlet Knights began attacking early off of a long ball in the third minute by lead goal scorer Lilia Calvert. In the 19th minute, Tommi Rose Valente broke through the ‘Cats midfield,
leading to a goal by Gabriela Gil, her first since 2024.
In the 25th minute, NU goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson deflected a shot out of bounds, resulting in a corner kick for Rutgers. A Julia Joseph cross from outside the box found the head of Morgan Hippeli, who put a second goal over Nelson.
Finding themselves in an early hole, the ‘Cats subbed in Camryn Freeman, who had scored twice in just four appearances entering Thursday. Rutgers head coach Mike O’Neill also looked to his bench, subbing out nine field players in the first 33 minutes.
Playing out of a defensive press, Rutgers controlled the ball well in the first half. On defense, the Scarlet Knights swarmed the ball, quickly eliminating any Northwestern possession. NU did not tally its first shot on goal until the 31st minute.
At the half, Rutgers had 11 shots to Northwestern’s two. Nelson was forced to make five saves, while Rutgers goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer had one.
Northwestern got on the board early in the second half, bringing the score to 2-1. A free kick by Megan Norkett found an unmarked Gwen Zimmerman, who headed the ball in for her first career goal.
It didn’t take long for Rutgers to answer, however, as Calvert stunned the ‘Cats with a knuckling goal from outside the box just two minutes later.
In the 63rd minute, Calvert received a yellow card for forcing Sarah O’Donnell to the ground. Momentum then swung in the ‘Cats direction. The ensuing free kick required Bodmer to make a jumping save. In the 70th minute, super-sub Freeman finished a cross from Alex Fallon for her team-leading third goal of the season, bringing the score to 3-2.
Ten minutes later, the ‘Cats came inches away from tying things up. A chip by Gabby Anderson got past Bodmer, only for Rutgers’ Lindsey Hailey to stretch and kick the ball away right in front of the goal line.
Late in the game, Rutgers failed to anticipate and intercept NU’s passes like it had in the first half, resulting in sustained possessions. The ‘Cats had one last chance with three minutes to play, but Bodmer was able to make a point-blank stop off of a tap-in try by Freeman.
Despite Northwestern’s late surge, Rutgers kept the score at 3-2 until the final whistle. The Scarlet Knights outshot the ‘Cats 20-14 and committed 10 fouls to Northwestern’s four. Nelson finished with a single-game career high nine saves.
The ‘Cats will need to maintain their second half play in order to remain in position for the B1G tournament. They are currently tied with Minnesota for the second to last spot with five matches to play. They will finish their three-match road trip on Sunday against Maryland.
The Terrapins currently rank last in the conference, providing the ‘Cats an opportunity to climb in the standings. The match will kick off at 11 a.m. CT, streaming on Big Ten Plus.
