Rutgers women's soccer attempts playoff push against Ohio State, Northwestern
The Rutgers women's soccer team is entering the final week of the 2023 regular season. The Scarlet Knights (7-6-3, 3-4-1) will play two crucial games this week as they look to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. Rutgers will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Thursday and will host Northwestern at Yurcak Field on Busch campus this Sunday.
Right now, the Knights are tied for No. 8 in the Big Ten standings with Michigan. Eighth place is the cutoff for the conference tournament, so Rutgers will be looking to solidify its place with a pair of wins this week.
First up is Thursday’s road contest versus the Buckeyes (8-5-2, 4-3-1), whom the Knights trail by 3 points in the Big Ten standings. A win for Rutgers would give both teams a 4-4-1 conference record and shake things up down the stretch for tournament seeding.
If history can forecast anything for the matchup with Ohio State, the Knights would be in a good position. In 12 all-time meetings with the Buckeyes, dating back to 2008, Rutgers has posted an undefeated record of 10-0-2.
With the Knights dominating over the years, Ohio State will be hungry for a victory in what should be a highly competitive match.
Rutgers will need to focus much of its attention on Kailyn Dudukovich. Dudukovich currently leads the Buckeyes with an impressive 10 goals this season. The team's next highest scorer is Amanda Schlueter, who has just 4 goals, so it is clear that much of the team's attack will run through Dudukovich.
The Knights will lean on redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer to slow down Dudukovich and her fellow attackers. Bodmer has started in all 16 matches this season and has posted clean sheets in seven of them.
Next up for Rutgers will be a home match against the Wildcats (8-4-4, 2-4-2) on Sunday. This will be the last game of the regular season and will likely have major postseason implications for both teams. Northwestern ranks one spot behind the Knights in the Big Ten and just 2 points shy of them.
Sunday's match for the Wildcats will come after they take on Minnesota on Thursday, who boasts the same conference record as them. This means if Rutgers can not handle its business against the Buckeyes, the winner between Northwestern and the Golden Gophers (6-5-4, 2-4-2) would jump the Knights in the standings on Thursday.
In what could very well end up being a win-or-go-home game on Sunday, Rutgers will face one of the top-scoring offenses in the country. The Wildcats rank in the top 30 in the nation for goals.
Northwestern averages 2.19 goals per game (GPG) for a total of 35 goals this season. The defense for the Wildcats, though, has been a bit susceptible as they allow 1.13 GPG.
Scoring goals has been the primary issue for the Knights this season, as they rank 175th out of 336 Division I programs in goals scored. A team that's been giving up goals like Northwestern should help Rutgers get things going.
The pivotal week will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday with the match against Ohio State. That game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. The Knights will return home on Sunday to go head-to-head against the Wildcats. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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