Seattle, Washington, Husky Soccer Stadium, 6 p.m. local kickoff, and two sides determined to book a trip to Bloomington, Indiana for the Big Ten Tournament final.
These were all the ingredients for a match set to captivate neutrals and manufacture inconceivable amounts of stress for supporters. This would be the second time Rutgers and Washington faced each other this season, but the first where a loss would guarantee elimination for title contention. In their first matchup of the season Washington claimed a 4-1 victory, but a deeper dive into the game and its supplementary match statistics would indicate the contest was much more evenly matched than the scoreline would suggest.
The fixture kicked off and was similar to the first game where the first half was a bombardment on each team’s net with Rutgers holding a bit of an advantage. They registered a total of seven shot attempts with five on net versus their opponent’s five and two respectively. This established that both keepers would be at the forefront of the storyline for the remainder of the game.
Illustrated by these stats was the sentiment surrounding the game that Rutgers was in the driver’s seat of the contest, but control does not win you soccer games as all fans are aware. Going into halftime the score remained 0-0 despite multiple attempts on target that included efforts from Nick Collins, Amer Lukovic and Francesco Di Ponzio.
The theme of the first half continued to play out in the initial stages of the second, and eventually the Scarlet Knights’ persistence paid off in the 66th minute. From close proximity, Simon Gorczowski located the back of the net by means of a volley following a corner kick, securing his first goal of the season. The goal was subject to Video Assistant Review (VAR), as were more controversial moments to follow, therefore the Scarlet Knights were able to celebrate twice— once immediately following the score and the second time when the referee confirmed there was no foul in the build up of the play. Rutgers’ dominance slowly weaned off in the latter portions of the second half as exemplified by Stockton Short’s zero saves in the second half.
Appearing to play a bit more pragmatically and protect their lead, the Scarlet Knights looked to focus on their defensive duties and counter attack only when the opportunities arose. On one occasion of a Rutgers breakaway, they found themselves in the midst of another VAR. A member of the Washington backline prevented what looked to be a goal scoring opportunity from Rutgers, but it was later determined that another defender was in the vicinity, therefore the onfield decision of a yellow card was not upgraded to a red, much to the dismay of the away side.
In the 77th minute a bouncing ball in the Scarlet Knight’s box was looking to be cleared by Devon Stopek, but a slight touch by the Washington attacker guided the ball away from him meaning the Rutgers defender would make contact with his opponent first. This led to the referee awarding the Huskies a penalty, although it would be subject to yet another VAR. Again, the onfield decision stood, this would be the third time momentum of either side would be broken up by an elongated decision-making process.
Zach Ramsey, who scored a brace in the initial matchup, but had a fairly quiet game up until this point stepped up to take the penalty. Rafael Ponce De Leon managed to save the effort brilliantly, but the inevitability of Washington’s talisman prevailed as on the follow up attempt, he netted a bar down effort that drew him level on 19 goals as Washington’s single season top scorer ever.
The substitution of William Pierce off the bench for Rutgers brought new energy to the counter attacks and saw the midfielder influence the attack through means of creative pedal dexterity. This injection of fresh legs along with others proved to be tangibly inconsequential as the match would finish 1-1 in regular time and neither team was able to generate a golden goal in extra time that would clinch a place in the Big Ten Tournament Final. This meant the inseparable sides would have their fate determined by a penalty shootout.
Both keepers performed well in the shootout with Ponce De Leon stopping yet another Ramsey penalty and Stockton Short denying the first two attempts from Rutgers. By the conclusion of the fourth round the score was tied 2-2. In the top of the fifth, Rutgers hit the crossbar meaning Washington’s Clarens Dollin had the opportunity to all but book the Huskies flight to Indiana. He stepped up and composedly picked out the top right corner, claiming victory for his side on the night. Although surely disappointed, the Scarlet Knights can hold their heads up high as this was the only difference between the two teams, they produced a more than valiant effort on the night.
The Big Ten regular season may be over and Rutgers is now out of the Big Ten Tournament, meaning they can no longer compete for conference silverware, but their regular season campaign has earned them the right to be considered for the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights will find out their destiny on Monday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. when the NCAA will publicly announce all schools that have qualified for its tournament on the Selection Show.
