Seton Hall was able to tally a pair of first half goals to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission and then hold off the Scarlet Knights in the second half to preserve the win.
"We had a really excellent game against Rutgers in our last exhibition of the spring and it was a great way to finish off the spring season," head women's soccer coach Kazbek Tambi said. "The team moved the ball very well and the passing at times was very crisp and sharp."
Sophomore Katie Ritter (Hagerstown, Md.), who led the Pirates with six goals in the fall, did her part to set up the SHU offense in the win over Rutgers. She flicked a ball up to sophomore Marie Klemme (Berlin, Germany) for the first score of the game, and also recorded an assist as freshman Mikayla Hickey (Salem, N.H.) provided the Pirates with a 2-0 cushion.
"We were a little bit depleted because of a handful of recent injuries, so really had to go without substitutions in the second half," Tambi said. "It was really a positive that we were still able to work through it and grind out a result even though we were fatigued in the second half."
The Pirates were also short at goalkeeper because of injury and Tambi turned to freshman Rachel Friedman (Bridgewater, N.J.) and sophomore Meghan Hayes (Fredon, N.J.) to split time in the nets, with the duo limiting Rutgers to just one score.
After a strong 2011 season in which Seton Hall finished 9-8-3 overall while picking up a win in the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 1999, the spring season seemed to indicated a continued ascent for the program.
The Pirates picked up wins over Monmouth and Rutgers, earning a tie against BIG EAST foe St. John's, who they beat 1-0 in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Tambi believes the team built on the success from last season and is in a strong position to continue that improvement this fall.
"The kids have really demonstrated that they can play at a very high level and they are leaving here for the summer with a lot of confidence," Tambi said. "The players are now charged with maintaining that fitness over the summer so that they come in as strong with a great starting point heading into our new season."
