No. 5 Women's Soccer Hosts Saint Louis for NCAA Tournament Second Round

Nov 16 | Women's Soccer

Tickets Free Parking Registration Watch on B1G+Live Stats Listen on WRSU (88.7 FM)NCAA Interactive Bracket NCAA Tournament Digital Program Match Notes

Scarlet Knights set for 5 PM matchup on Friday, Nov. 19 at Yurcak Field

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 5 Rutgers women's soccer is set to host Saint Louis for the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 19. Kickoff is set for 5 PM at Yurcak Field live on B1G+. Tickets are on sale for purchase by clicking here.

"We're super pumped, making it to the Second Round is really nice, you know, survive and advance. Our energies are high this week. We're really excited to get back on the pitch. We're looking forward to this week and being at home. Our fans and families and friends are all here to support us and their energy is definitely really good for us," said sophomore forward Sam Kroeger.

"Going into the first round, I think everyone was super anxious and ready to get started. Getting through that first round gives a little more calmness. We're all super hype and working really hard. We have high energy for the next round, especially being home," said senior defender Allison Lynch.

"Our momentum is good right now. We got two goals and we got that shutout in the First Round. That's definitely something very exciting. We are trying to keep the ball rolling with that and create as many chances as we can, finish as many as we can and keep clean sheet," said senior forward Amirah Ali.

"Being home is a huge advantage because we have all of our fans here. Playing on your own field is the best and the momentum we have, we're on a very big high right now after just coming off a huge win. Our practice was good today and we're just going to keep rolling, and we're going get the job done," said freshman forward Riley Tiernan.

THIS WEEK'S QUICK KICKS

WATCH AND LISTEN | Friday's Second Round match will be available to stream on B1G+ without a subscription. Live stats of the match will be available at NCAA.com. WRSU (88.7 FM) will broadcast the game as well.

TICKETS | Tickets for the NCAA Tournament can be purchased by clicking here. Rutgers students can claim a free ticket to the event.

Rutgers moved to mobile-only tickets, which can be added to an Apple Wallet or Google Pay app. Fans can also download the Scarlet Knight App to access tickets, news, live updates and more. Tickets can be purchased at the gate with cash only.

PARKING | Parking for the NCAA Tournament is free at Yurcak Field. Fans are required to register their vehicle by clicking here. A one-time sign up will have the vehicle set for all home contests this season.

RU'S LAST TIME OUT | No. 1 seed Rutgers (18-3, 10-0 Big Ten) defeated Bucknell, 2-0, in its First Round matchup on Sunday. Senior midfielder Frankie Tagliaferri and freshman forward Riley Tiernan recorded goals for RU, while senior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland registered six saves in net for the 12th shutout of the season.

The Scarlet Knights are appearing in their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament, marking the 12th time in the last 14 years and 16th time overall

NO. 1 SEED | Rutgers is tabbed a No. 1 seed for the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The seed marks the highest selection in program history, having been a No. 2 seed in its historic 2015 College Cup run.

BIG TEN HONORS | Following the program's first Big Ten title, Frankie Tagliaferri was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, Gabby Provenzano the Big Ten Defender of the Year and Riley Tiernan the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The three player of the year awards marks the most ever in a single year for the Scarlet Knights and the first multiple top awards in single year since two in 2015.

Amirah Ali (First Team), Riley Tiernan (First Team), Frankie Tagliaferri (First Team), Gabby Provenzano (First Team), Becci Fluchel (Second Team), and Meagan McClelland (Third Team) all earned All-Big Ten honors. Riley Tiernan, Kylie Daigle and Kassidy Banks were selected to the All-Freshman Team, while Shea Holland was tabbed the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient for Rutgers.

Head Coach Mike O'Neill earned Coach of the Year accolades. In his eighth season at the helm, O'Neill guided the program in setting a plethora of records, picking up his 100^th career victory along the way. A full release on the awards can be found here.

ON THE ATTACK | A total of 18 different Scarlet Knights have contributed to scoring this year. RU has outscored opponents 57-13 on the year, including 13 different goal scorers, 11 multi-goal contributors, and 53 team assists.

Frankie Tagliaferri leads the squad with 33 points (13g, 7a) on the season. Amirah Ali follows with 23 points (9g, 5a) of her own while Riley Tiernan owns 21 points (5g, 11a). Allison Lowrey (6g, 4a) has notched 16 points, Sam Kroeger (5g, 3a) and Sara Brocious (4g, 5a) each own 13 points to round out the double-digit point contributors.

Rutgers ranks 11th in the nation in scoring offense with 2.71 goals per game across 21 matches. The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten and are top 11 in the nation in total goals (8^th -57), total assists (11th - 53), and total points (9^th - 167). Tiernan ranks 15th in the NCAA with 11 assists, while Tagliaferri ranks 18th with 33 total points.

SHUTOUT SOCCER | The Scarlet Knights have registered 12 shutouts this season, including seven against Big Ten opponents. Rutgers has held all 21 opponents to seven or less shots on goal this season, including nine to three or less SOG. The Scarlet Knights kept 13 to six or less shots in the match overall. Dating back to 2019, RU has held 49 straight opponents to single-digit shots on goal in each match.

BIG TEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | Rutgers claimed 13 conference weekly awards this regular season, the most in a single season for the program. The honors have included Offensive honors for Frankie Tagliferri (8/31) and Amirah Ali (10/26), Defensive accolades for Gabby Provenzano (9/7 & 9/28), Becci Fluchel (9/21 & 10/12) and Allison Lynch (10/5 & 10/26), Goalkeeper honors for Meagan McClelland (10/26) and Freshman recognition for Riley Tiernan (8/31, 10/12 & 10/19) and Kassidy Banks (9/21).

MAC HERMANN TROPHY | Seniors Amirah Ali and Frankie Tagliaferri are named to the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The trophy is awarded to the National Player of the Year. It marks the first time two Scarlet Knights have been added to the list in the same season.

SENIOR CLASS AWARD | Seniors Gabby Provenzano and Frankie Tagliafferi are named 2021 Senior CLASS Award candidates. The award recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. It marks the second straight year RU has had a candidate for the Award, as classmate Amirah Ali was named a finalist and First Team selection in 2020-21.

Tagliaferri was tabbed one of 10 finalist for the award. Nationwide fan voting is now open to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 22. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.

IN THE RANKINGS | Rutgers entered the NCAA Tournament ranked 5th in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, as well as ranking No. 3 in the latest RPI rankings. RU is also tabbed No. 5 by Top Drawer Soccer.

FOLLOW THE SCARLET KNIGHTS | Follow Rutgers women's soccer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.

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