NEWARK, N.J. - The NJIT women's soccer team (0-1) dropped its season opener to Rutgers (1-0) in a defensive battle, falling 1-0 on Thursday evening at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
The game remained scoreless until the 85th minute, when Rutgers' Emily Mason scored the game-winning goal off a corner kick by Riley Tiernan to secure the victory for the Scarlet Knights.
The Highlanders demonstrated their defensive strength throughout the contest, blocking ten shots and goalkeeper Mojisola Ayodele made four saves. Ayodele's most notable save occurred in the 42nd minute, diving to stop a shot heading toward the top left corner of the net to keep the game scoreless.
Merle Hueser, Mikayla Balio, and Emily Jozak led NJIT with two shots apiece. Hueser, Kennedy Westbrook, Maria Nogueira, Ciara Adams, Taylor Pape, and Ayodele played all 90 minutes.
"I'm really proud of this group. We battled and made it really difficult. Rutgers is a national powerhouse. They were in the College Cup a couple of years ago, they are a great program. We made them work for it tonight," said head coach Ally Nick. "Obviously, our defensive fight and organization is phenomenal. We saw a lot out of those players today."
NEXT UP
NJIT hosts Marist as part of a doubleheader with the men's soccer team on Thursday, August 22 at 4:00 p.m. at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
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