Women's soccer takes down #24 Rutgers to advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Saturday, November 12

Piscataway, N.J.

6 p.m.

Brown University

13-2-2, 5-0-1

Rutgers

13-5-2, 5-3-2

Brown

Rutgers

Women's soccer takes down #24 Rutgers to advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

11/12/2022 10:50:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Tournament Bracket

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Brown women's soccer team defeated No. 24 Rutgers 1-0 Saturday night in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Ava Seelenfruend's goal in the 81^st minute lifted the Bears to victory.

Before tonight, the Scarlet Knights were an undefeated 9-0-1 at home. The Bears improved to 6-1-1 on the road.

"This win means a lot to this team," head coach Kia McNeill said. "I've said all season that this team can play with anyone in the country. I think we had a tremendous Ivy League run to make it here to the postseason.

"We played a great Big Ten team in Rutgers today, but I thought we really took it to them and Ava had a great goal there in the end."

The Bears outshot the Scarlet Knights 15-10 on the night and earned five corners to their three. Seelenfreund, in addition to her game-winner, led the team with seven shots. Brittany Raphino had four.

The Bears put the pressure on early, taking six shots in the first 12 minutes before Rutgers recorded their first. The game was scoreless at the half.

After the Scarlet Knights started to gain some momentum late in the first half, Brown came out in the second and essentially controlled the entire 45 minutes. Thanks to impressive defensive play from the backline of Kayla Duran, Naya Cardoza, and Jessica Hinton, the majority of Rutgers chances were thwarted before they truly materialized.

Then, in the 82st minute, Lexi Quinn won the ball at midfield. She found Raphino who was able to turn and get it forward to Seelenfreund just outside the 18. She found Maguire, who was perfectly positioned, and she only needed one touch to cross it back to the center of the box. Seelenfreund headed it down to the bottom right corner. The Rutgers keeper had no chance.

"I saw Kira Maguire making a run down the wing," Seelenfreund said. "She is really good at crossing it, so I just found her, [she sent it back] and I just found the ball.

"But the whole game, we had a lot of opportunities and if one of them hadn't gone in we would have been really upset today, so that was a team goal."

With under a minute to go, the Scarlet Knights were awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Rutgers' Sam Kroeger sent a shot to the bottom right corner, but at full extension, Bella Schopp was able to keep it out of the net to preserve the victory.

On the night, Schopp made three saves in her first career NCAA Tournament game.

With the win, Brown picked up its first victory in the NCAA Tournament since 1994. When they moved on to the second round in 2019, they technically tied Monmouth and advanced on penalty kicks.

"It was a real team effort," McNeill said. "We're excited to be going to the second round and I think this team is really deserving of every minute of it."

The Bears will take on UC Irvine, who defeated No. 4 seed Southern California, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament next Friday, Nov. 18 at host No. 1 seed Alabama.

BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION
The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the lifeblood of the athletics program, and exists to enhance the student-athlete experience through philanthropic support from alumni, parents, fans and friends. A gift through the Sports Foundation makes an immediate impact on today's Brown Bears and helps them to be their best in the classroom, in competition and most importantly in the community. To learn more about supporting the Bears, please click here.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Brown Athletics, please follow @BrownU_Bears on Twitter, @BrownU_Bears on Instagram, like BrownUBears on Facebook and subscribe to the BrownAthletics YouTube channel.