Going into Thursday night's highly anticipated matchup, both teams were coming off highly explosive wins, Rutgers with a 7-0 victory over FDU, and Princeton with a 5-0 victory over LaSalle. Both teams were looking to bring that same explosiveness to Thursday’s Jersey showdown.
Princeton took control of the game early on, registering the games first seven shots on goal, two of them coming in the first five minutes of the game. Rutgers was able to register their first shot on goal at 24:57 of the first, but weren’t able to gain much momentum until the last 15 minutes registering two shots on goal. Despite the strong offensive pushes from both sides, the game remained scoreless going into halftime.
The first half of this showdown proved to be a physical one with 13 fouls being called. The physicality didn’t die down in the second half with a foul being called 43 seconds into the half, helping Princeton take back the momentum. In the first five minutes, Princeton registered two shots on net, but just weren’t able to capitalize on their opportunities.
From that point it was a back and forth game and one where a mistake could cost the whole game. Princeton had a threat of an opportunity with 5 minutes to go with a lethal cross into the box that Heather MacNab hit high over the net. Rutgers once again made their noise in the final minutes of the half, registering three shots on net with less than three minutes to go in the game.
THIS close from breaking the deadlock in the 88th.#WeNeverStop🧹#ForeverRutgers pic.twitter.com/DYqLHnTgEU
— RUTGERS WOMEN’S SOCCER (@RUWSoccer) September 1, 2023
Rutgers was inches away from stealing the game late, but were ultimately unable to capitalize, making the battle of Route 1 a scoreless affair.
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday when they face Army at Myslik Field at 4 PM, while the Scarlet Knights take the field again Monday when they face #14 Georgetown at Yurack Field at 1 PM.
For more coverage of this all-Jersey battle, view Michael Franco's images in our game photo gallery.
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