PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 2, 2011) – Rutgers women’s soccer (6-6-1, 1-4-1) dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Syracuse (5-4-3, 4-2-0) in double overtime on Sunday afternoon at Yurcak Field.

“I’m focused on getting us better,” said head coach Glenn Crooks. “Once again, it’s our third straight overtime game and in all those games we had opportunities in regulation to finish it off. You can say we were the better team in those games but it’s the finished product, it’s the final result. There’s been times when I’ve really enjoyed the way we play and there’s other times where there are things to fix.

“We’re obviously having a problem finishing. We still haven’t scored a goal in the run of play. The goal we scored today, which was a relief in some ways, was off a set piece. In the run of play we still haven’t had one in a while. We worked on it this past week, we worked on it Saturday and we just have keep going. I told the girls [after the game] you can be a little despondent for a moment and then tomorrow we have to start working again. It’s my job to watch the tape and decide what we have to focus on for the week to get ready for DePaul.”

The Scarlet Knights took an early lead but a pair of unanswered goals by the Orange made the difference in the end.

Rutgers opened the scoring in the 12th minute after earning a corner kick. Senior back Julie Lancos (Belford, N.J.) sent the service into the box, but the Syracuse goalkeeper failed on her attempt to punch ball away as senior midfielder Ashley Medcalf (Waipahu, Hawaii) struck the loose ball to put RU ahead 1-0. It was the Scarlet Knights’ first goal in four games.

Syracuse responded in the 23rd minute, also scoring on a set piece. The Orange were awarded a free kick to the right of the penalty area, which Rosina Callisto sent into the box and connected with Amanda Hamilton on a header. Rutgers junior goalkeeper Emmy Simpkins (Concord, N.C.) made a great diving effort at saving the shot but the ball deflected off her hand, struck the post and snuck in, just across the goal line. Simpkins was tough between the pipes for the Scarlet Knights, ending the game with six saves to keep RU in the contest.

The score remained tied at 1-1 through the remainder of regulation, however, the Scarlet Knights had a number of opportunities to break deadlock but couldn’t find the decisive score. Rutgers outshot Syracuse 16-13 for the game, including a pair of one-on-one chances with the goalkeeper in the final minutes.

After playing through the first overtime period without a score, the two teams went into the second overtime and it took just over three minutes for Syracuse to find the game-winner. Tina Romagnuolo ran down the left flank and took a shot at goal, which Simpkins was able to stretch and get her hands on but the ball squirted out of her grasp as Cecilia Borgstrom was able to pounce on the rebound and secure the 2-1 win for the Orange.

Rutgers continues its homestand next weekend, as RU welcomes DePaul Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. and Notre Dame Sunday, Oct. 9 at noon.

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