Starting XI: No. 8 Women's Soccer vs. Minnesota

Oct 12 | Women's Soccer

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The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights host the Golden Gophers on Thu., Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. ET on B1G+.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 8 Rutgers women's soccer (12-1-1, 4-1-1) continues a three-match homestand hosting Minnesota (6-7-1, 2-4-0) on Thu., Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. ET at Yurcak Field and streaming live on B1G+.

It is MVP Night and Donate Life Liver Cancer Awareness Night at Yurcak Field. Rutgers women's soccer supports the Donate Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports donation and transplantation to heal and save lives.

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PREVIOUSLY ON...
Rutgers shut out Indiana (2-5-6, 0-5-1) in a 1-0 triumph on Sunday afternoon at Yurcak Field. Sophomore midfielder Kylie Daigle finished her own penalty kick after being fouled in the box in the 61st minute, putting Rutgers ahead for good in its eighth shutout win of the season.

Allison Lynch helped lead the backline to another shutout in 2022 by holding the Hoosiers to a single shot on goal, which was saved by Meagan McClelland in the 78th. Lynch played all 90 minutes in the clean sheet, marking the eighth game this season Rutgers defense held an opponent to three shots on goal or less.

"It took us a little bit to get going today in a one-game week, so we needed to build some momentum," Lynch said. "We figured out what we needed to change in our game plan, and we did a nice job adjusting to create the pressure that led to our goal. Meagan always holds us down, but our mindset is to pride ourselves on the shutouts and we do that for each other. We have all 27 players in mind."

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SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota is 6-7-1 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. Coming off a 1-0 win over Iowa at home their last time out, the Gophers snapped a three-match losing slide with close 2-1 losses to No. 9 Northwestern and No. 23 Wisconsin, and a tight 1-0 setback to Michigan. Minnesota is playing its third ranked opponent in five matches.

Graduate defender Gabbie Cesarone and senior goalkeeper Megan Plaschko were honored by the Big Ten Conference for their performances against Iowa on Sunday. Cesarone won Defender of the Week while Plaschko earned Goalkeeper of the Week. Cesarone, a centerback from St. Charles, Ill., scored her fourth goal and third game winner against Iowa. All four of Cesarone's goals have been off corner kicks while all but three have been headers. Plaschko, a Minnesota native, posted her fifth shutout this season and matched her season high of six saves.

Rutgers is 7-4 all-time against Minnesota and has won three straight in the series. Minnesota's last win came in 2018 at Yurcak Field in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Last season, Allison Lynch scored, Sam Kroeger assisted, and Meagan McClelland made five saves in a 2-1 victory in Minneapolis.

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HISTORIC START: The 2022 Scarlet Knights are the only team in Rutgers women's soccer history to start a season 9-0-0. They surpassed the 8-0-0 start by the 2015 College Cup team, who lost their ninth match. Before the setback at Penn State, the Scarlet Knights had won 20 consecutive regular season games dating back to Sept. 16, 2021. Prior to Thursday, the team's last regular season loss came on Sept. 12, 2021 at Georgetown.

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RUTGERS RANKED: RU has been ranked No. 8 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll. The Scarlet Knights began at No. 6 in the preseason poll, marking 11 of the last 13 seasons Rutgers received votes in the national preseason vote, before rising to No. 3 in Week 1 after a 2-0-0 start - matching the highest rank in program history.

Through matches on Oct. 11, Rutgers is among the nation's leaders in goals (10th, 35), assists (10th, 34), and points (9th, 104). The 2.5 goals per match comes in at 14th in the nation.
Sam Kroeger owns four game-winning goals to rank seventh in the NCAA.
Meagan McClelland's seven shutouts are ranked No. 17 in the country.
The Big Ten coaches voted Rutgers to repeat as conference champions, coming in a first-place tie with Penn State in the annual preseason poll. The poll marks the first time in Rutgers Athletics history a Scarlet Knight team has been picked No. 1, and it also marks the first time in conference history the women's soccer preseason poll resulted in a tie for the top spot.

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CHASING HISTORY: Graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland is already the school record holder in minutes played and at the 56:21 mark of the Minnesota match, she will become the NCAA Division I all-time leader in minutes played in the sport of women's soccer with 8,998:08.

Riley Tiernan and Sara Brocious each have six assists this season and are marching up the record book in career helpers at RU. Tiernan is tied for eighth all-time with 19 and needs four more to enter the Top 5. Brocious has 15 career assists and is two away from breaking into the Top 10. The all-time assist record at Rutgers is 29 set by Gina DeMaio from 2006-10.

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FAMILY STYLE: The Scarlet Knights' early offense has been powered by a selfless style of passing and an unpredictable source of origin through five matches. Twenty-eight of their 35 goals have been assisted, and the total assists (34) are keeping up with the totals goals (35) thanks to one-time passing crediting double assists.

Fourteen different Scarlet Knights have registered a point thus far in 2022, including 11 different goal scorers and 12 different assisters. Nine goals spanning wins over Buffalo and Temple were all scored by different players, including all seven against Temple on Sept. 1.

With the team's offense ranked in the Top 10 of the nation, no single player is ranked above No. 53 in scoring (Sam Kroeger and Allison Lowrey's seven goals).

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THE CLEANEST SHEET: With seven shutouts in the first 14 matches, graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland opens the 2022 season as the NCAA Division I career leader in shutouts with 42. With 8,942:27 minutes played in her career, McClelland is aiming for the NCAA all-time career record for minutes played of 8,998:07 set by Virginia's Laurel Ivory in 2021.

The Kearny keeper recorded 13 shutouts and 83 saves on the year in 2021, including five clean sheets against league opponents in the run to the conference title. She maintained a 0.67 GAA in net, helping RU extend its streak to eight straight seasons registering a GAA of 0.77 or less.

McClelland is the first to credit the defense in front of her, which has allowed six shots on goal or fewer in all 14 matches this season, including eight with three or fewer shots on target allowed.

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THE REIGNING CHAMPS: The 10-0 Big Ten record in 2021 marked the first undefeated conference season in Rutgers women's soccer history, becoming the first Big Ten team to accomplish the feat since 2005. RU outscored the conference competition 23-6 on its way to the school's first Big Ten title. The 10-0 run was part of a program-record 13-match winning streak that carried into the Big Ten Tournament.

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GUESS WHO'S BACK?: Rutgers returns nine starters (15 or more starts) and 17 letterwinners from the 2021 College Cup squad.

Returning "On the Banks" this fall are Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Region First Team performer Riley Tiernan (an NCAA Division I Preseason Player to Watch) and All-Region goalkeeper Meagan McClelland. Junior midfielder Becci Fluchel (All-Big Ten Second Team) also returns with All-Conference honors from last fall.

Graduate student back Adriana Kuryla celebrated her birthday in the season-opening win at New Mexico by playing all 90 minutes in the shut out after playing in just two matches last season due to injuries.

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NEW KIDS "ON THE BANKS": Coach Mike O'Neill signed five freshmen to the 2022 roster (Hannah Blodget, Olivia Bodmer, Mallory McGuire, Allie Post, and Naila Schoefberger) and welcomed five transfers to the mix (Niamh Cashin - Rider, Hailey Gutowski - Temple, Jessica Schildkraut - Columbia, Emily Smith - American, and Naya Vialva - La Salle).

Allie Post and Mallory McGuire scored their first collegiate goals against Temple on Sept. 1, while Hannah Blodget picked up her first point with an assist in the victory. Hailey Gutowski leads the newcomers in scoring with five points on two goals and an assist, while Post has totaled four points on a goal and two helpers.

Stay up to date on the latest news and schedule updates by following Rutgers women's soccer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.
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