PISCATAWAY, N.J. (September 14, 2012) – The No. 16 Rutgers women’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 overtime decision in the BIG EAST opener against Villanova Friday night at Yurcak Field.

 

“I’m very proud of the way the team came back in the second half,” said head coach Glenn Crooks. “We fought to get the equalizer. It was well deserved. We put pressure on them. They only had two shots in the second half and overtime. It was completely against the run of play. You can’t give goals up off set pieces and we need to get better at that. We have to play a full 90 minutes of soccer.”

 

Scored by Renee Hart, the game-winning goal came just 2:06 into the first overtime period. VU midfielder Heidi Sabatura led a 2-1 break for the Wildcats, passing the ball to Hart. The forward was able to chip it over the head of RU goalkeeper Emmy Simpkins (Concord, N.C.) from 10 yards out for the win.  

 

RU knotted the game at 1-1 with 19:56 left in regulation thanks to a penalty shot conversion by redshirt junior Jonelle Filigno (Mississauga, ON, Canada). After a take down in the box, Filigno coolly connected on the PK opportunity, burying it into the top right of the net.  

 

The Wildcats entered halftime with a 1-0 advantage after a corner kick goal from Villanova’s Stephanie Myers at the 26:35 mark. Midfielder Hayley Wilson sent the kick in for the Wildcats, finding the foot of Myers along the left side of the net to beat Simpkins.

 

Villanova nearly entered the locker rooms with a 2-0 lead, but Simpkins made a diving save to hold the Wildcats within one. Sabatura broke loose of the RU defense inside the box and sent a rocket shot at the left of the net that the RU netminder was able to punch away.

 

The best opportunity for RU came 12 minutes into the first half. Taking a free kick just across midfield, redshirt senior back Shannon Woeller (Vancouver, Canada) connected with the head of freshman midfielder Gabby Moreno (Severna Park, Md.) along the left side of the box. The shot sailed just to the left of the net.

 

For the match, RU outshot the Wildcats 20-7, including 14-2 in the second half and overtime period.

 

Rutgers returns to Yurcak Field on Sunday, Sept. 16 to take on Georgetown. The game is scheduled for noon and will be live streamed on RVision, presented by AT&T.

 

Game Notes

* With her goal tonight, Jonelle Filigno moved into a tie for ninth place on the RU career goal list. Carli Lloyd tallied the most goals for a Scarlet Knight with 50.

* Filigno moves to 4-of-4 in her career on PKs.

* The goal marked the eighth of Filigno’s season.

* Since 2008, Rutgers is 8-4-10 when heading into overtime. RU drops to 1-1 in extra time this season.

* Since the start of the 2006 season, RU is 50-12-9 on Yurcak Field.

* Head coach Glenn Crooks used his ninth different starting lineup in nine matches.

* The Scarlet Knights move to 13-8-8 all-time against the Wildcats. Over the last five meetings, RU drops to 2-2-1.