Heading into the game, both #25 Rutgers and #8 Duke had a much tougher draw against one another than most teams in the NCAA Women’s Soccer tournament. Despite being ranked 8th in the polls, Duke only earned one of the #4 seeds. As one OTB commenter astutely asked, if there are 64 teams in the field, why are two top 25 squads squaring off in the first round?
Excellent question, but at the end of the day to be the best you have to beat the best eventually. The contest lived up the billing, as good a game as you’ll get in the first round of tournament play.