Rutgers women's soccer prepares for pivotal week against Michigan, Michigan State
The Rutgers women's soccer team is preparing for a pivotal week where it will play Michigan on Thursday, followed by a matchup with Michigan State on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights (6-5-3, 2-3-1) will host both games at Yurcak Field on Busch campus, coming off of their three-game road stint in which they went 1-1-1.
Rutgers will have its hands full as both the Wolverines (7-3-3, 3-2-1) and the Spartans (9-3-2, 4-1-1) have played very well this season and boast winning records.
Michigan currently sits at No. 6 in the Big Ten with 10 points, while Michigan State sits at No. 4 in the standings with 13 points. The Knights have lagged behind this season, coming in at No. 9 in the Big Ten with 7 points.
Over the years, Rutgers and the Wolverines have been evenly matched. The all-time record between the two programs currently sits at 4-4-2. Michigan has won its last two meetings, with the Knights' last win coming in 2021. Each team will be looking to take the lead in the conference rivalry this Thursday.
Headed into the match, Rutgers will need to focus its attention on the attacking duo of Sammi Woods and Gabrielle Prych. Woods and Prych are the only two players with double-digit points. Woods leads the Wolverines with 17 points and Pyrch has 14 points.
Woods has scored 8 goals this season and has one assist. Prych has scored 5 goals while also tallying four assists. They have accounted for 13 of the team's 19 total goals this season.
In goal for Michigan will likely be Stephanie Sparkowski, as she has started in all 13 games this season. She currently holds an 84.1 save percentage and has a goals-against average of 0.86. Sparkowski has also made the second most saves in the Big Ten.
She has allowed three goals in her last game in net. So, the Knights will look to continue their opponent's recent success against Sparkowski.
As for the contest against the Spartans, Rutgers and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer will have a lot on their hands. Michigan State has scored 36 goals this season, the 15th most goals in the nation. The Spartans have scored the second most goals in the Big Ten, only behind Nebraska, who tied with the Knights 2-2 on September 28.
Michigan State boasts a relatively balanced attack, as 12 different players have tallied a goal this season. Ten of those 12 players have scored 2 goals or more this year, and most impressively, seven players have scored 3 or more goals this season.
Bodmer and Rutgers' defenders will need to keep the Spartans attack in check, or the game could get out of hand. The Knights' attack has not been as lethal this season as it has been in years past, so it will be tough to claw back if Michigan State's high-octane attack gets it out to an early lead.
Look for graduate student forward Gia Vicari, senior forward Allison Lowrey and senior midfielder Sara Brocious to lead Rutgers on the offensive end.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, these two games for the Knights against a pair of strong conference opponents will prove to be major tests as Rutgers looks to gain some momentum.
The match against Michigan will kick off at 6 p.m. on Thursday and be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The Knights bout against Michigan State will get started at 1 p.m. on Sunday and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's soccer team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Camden Markel's work, follow @CamdenMarkel on X.
