Five members of the 2015 Scarlet Knights women’s soccer team celebrating

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The 2015 Scarlet Knights women’s soccer team outdid itself this season, going 19-4-3 and rising to number four in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America final postseason ranking, the team’s best showing ever. Players celebrate after a goal that led to the team’s 4–0 victory over the University of Connecticut during the NCAA tournament’s third round on November 22. The team was the top Division I team in the nation for goals-against average and shutout percentage.

Photography: 
Will Schneekloth

One of the high points of Rutgers’ entry into Big Ten athletic competition, if not the high point, has been the performance of the Scarlet Knights women’s soccer team. During its inaugural season in 2014, the team went 13-6-1 (8-4-1 in the Big Ten) and made its third straight trip to the NCAA tournament, one of only three teams from the Big Ten to qualify.

“It was our first year in the Big Ten,” said Michael O’Neill, the second-year head coach. “There were a lot of new journeys, and these new journeys weren’t only on the field. They were in the travel, the team spirit, and all the laughs along the way.”

The 2015 team—led by sophomore goalie Casey Murphy, who emerged as a star during her first year of competition last year—outdid itself this season, going 19-4-3 and rising to number four in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America final postseason ranking, the team’s best showing ever.

And were it not for Penn State, the Scarlet Knights could have won the Big Ten Championship, which they lost 2–0. They could have later played for the NCAA’s College Cup championship, but lost 2–0 in the semifinal match to the Nittany Lions again. The quarterfinal NCAA match for Rutgers was pure drama: the Scarlet Knights played to a 0–0 tie during regulation before beating then-number-one Virginia 7–6 in nine agonizing rounds of penalty kicks—the feat pulled off on the road, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

There was a lot to be pleased about last season. The Scarlet Knights relied on a suffocating defense that allowed only five goals during 20 games of pre- and regular-season play. It’s no surprise that Murphy and senior center backs Brianne Reed and Erica Skroski were singled out by the Big Ten for their defensive play. And the offense, led by sophomore Colby Ciarrocca, was effective, bringing an overall balance to a team that had one informed observer believing this year’s Scarlet Knights were right up there with the best team ever.

“I’d like to think that (the 2006 squad) was the best team in school history, but I think this one has the best talent,” said Meghan Ryan RC’08, now associate head coach who was the captain and starring center back of the 2006 team. “The 2006 team was a good team. We fought together as a team. We overachieved that year. But this year’s team is probably the best team I’ve seen since I’ve been with the program.”

And perhaps the best is yet to come.