Calvert’s Winner Lifts Rutgers Past Northwestern 3-2 on Pinkout Night
Photos by: Monika Sutton
Rutgers built a three-goal cushion and then had to hang on. The Scarlet Knights scored three times in a 33-minute span and survived a late Northwestern push to beat the Wildcats 3-2 on Thursday night at Yurcak Field, in front of 903 fans on the program's Pinkout night.
Rutgers 3, Northwestern 2
Yurcak Field, Piscataway, N.J. | Thursday, October 8
Rutgers controlled the first half, outshooting Northwestern 11-2. In the 19th minute, Marian Dunne held the ball up and Gabriela Gil finished with the outside of her foot into the bottom left corner. Seven minutes later, Lilia Calvert played a corner short to Julia Joseph, whose cross found Morgan Hippeli for a header and the first goal of her career.
Northwestern got one back early in the second half. In the 51st minute, first-year Gwen Zimmerman headed in a Megan Norkett free kick at the back post for her first career goal. Rutgers answered less than two minutes later, when Calvert beat a defender down the left, cut inside and lifted a left-footed shot over goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson to restore the two-goal lead.
The Wildcats kept coming. Camryn Freeman made it 3-2 in the 71st minute off an Alex Fallon assist, her third goal in as many games. Ten minutes later, Gabby Anderson's chip looked headed for the equalizer before Lindsey Hailey cleared it off the line.
Player of the match: Lilia Calvert had a hand in two of the three goals, starting the corner routine that led to Hippeli's header and then scoring the winner herself. The freshman now has four goals and three assists this season.
Stat to know: Nelson made a career-high nine saves for Northwestern, the most by a Wildcats goalkeeper since 2019. Olivia Bodmer made five saves for Rutgers, raising her career total to 268.
What it means: Rutgers improved to 4-5-3 overall and 3-4-0 in the Big Ten. Northwestern fell to 5-6-3 and 3-3-1.
Up next: Rutgers hosts Nebraska on Sunday for Senior Day, and Northwestern visits Maryland the same day.
