Knights stress rest with tourney play looming

Each week of the regular season brings its own challenges for the Rutgers women’s soccer team, and this week is no different.

The Scarlet Knights will prepare for tomorrow night’s matchup against Houston.

Rutgers will have to adjust to being on a short week of practice, but this does not seem to be something it can handle.

“I don’t think that it will affect us too much,” said senior forward Jonelle Filigno about the short week. “We just need to make some adjustments, but it should not alter our game.”

This week should serve as good experience considering the Knights will be on a short week again two weeks from now when they host Connecticut.

Another challenge Rutgers will deal with is recovering from arguably its most physical game of the season Friday against Memphis.

The game was a 90-minute battle that took everything the Knights had to secure the victory.

The training staff was busy at the end of the game considering the game’s physical nature. Plenty of ice bags and cool-down treatments were visible on the Rutgers sideline during the various postgame events.

But in his 14th season at the helm, head coach Glenn Crooks understands how to get his team some rest in order to keep his players as fresh as possible.

“We had some time off over the weekend and some people have been able to heal up,” said senior defender Tricia DiPaolo.

Even though the Knights have displayed their depth, staying healthy for the rest of the season is key.

Rutgers has already dealt with some injuries, including freshman defender Erin Smith and junior midfielder Cassie Inacio.

But another injury at this stage of the season could be detrimental with tournament play soon to come.

For now, Rutgers will continue to rehab as best it can.

“We had a good practice today to get our legs back after having some time off over the weekend,” said freshman forward Madison Tiernan. “As the end of the season approaches we need to find a way to save our bodies for each game.”

Filigno and her sophomore defender Brianne Reed were both shaken up at points during the match, but both finished the game against the Tigers. Reed played every minutes, while Filigno played 82 minutes.

“Last game is in the past, and we need to leave it behind us in order to focus on the next game,” Filigno said.

For updates on the women’s soccer team follow @TargumSports on Twitter.