PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Sam Kroeger needed just 1:45 into the match to score the game winner and 2:56 to record her first collegiate brace, setting the tone for a convincing 3-0 win for No. 9 Rutgers women’s soccer (6-0-0) over Princeton (3-1-0) on Sunday at Yurcak Field.
The team’s second consecutive shutout brings Rutgers’ score against opponents this week to 10-0. The win over the Tigers marked a bit of revenge after the Scarlet Knights’ perfect 5-0 start in 2021 was disrupted by a home loss to Princeton by a 4-3 score. Kroeger kickstarted the offense as Meagan McClelland recorded her 38th career clean sheet with a season-high five saves to hold her position as the NCAA active leader in shutouts.
“We always talk about the first five minutes and how it’s one of the most important parts of a game, so we wanted to get a few goals to get ahead,” Kroeger said. “Kylie Daigle played a perfect ball to me and I took my chance. Then Becci Fluchel had great awareness on the free kick, I saw the goalkeeper come out, and that left the backdoor open.”
Daigle’s pass found Kroeger just inside the corner of the Princeton 18-yard box, with the one-time shot beating the keeper to the right and finding the side netting. About a minute later, Fluchel caught the Tigers off guard with a quick free kick toward Kroeger, who settled with her thigh then shot a rocket from the top of the box into the net for the lightning…
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