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

Oct 15 | Women's Soccer

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The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights host the Badgers on Sun., Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. ET on B1G+.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 8 Rutgers women's soccer (12-1-2, 4-1-2) hosts its final regular season home match against Wisconsin (10-3-2, 5-2-0) on Sun., Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. ET at Yurcak Field and streaming live on B1G+.

It is Senior Day "On the Banks," presented by R Fund. Rutgers will honor seven student-athletes from its senior and graduate student classes in a ceremony before the game.

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PREVIOUSLY ON...
Amid a hard-fought and water-logged 2-2 draw between Rutgers and Minnesota (6-7-2, 2-4-1) at Yurcak Field on Thursday night, Scarlet Knights graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland set a new NCAA all-time record for minutes played in the sport.

Riley Tiernan and Allison Lynch scored for Rutgers, Sam Kroeger and Kylie Daigle passed out assists, and McClelland finished the game with 9,032:27 minutes played, the new NCAA career record, passing the 8,998:07 mark set by Virginia's Laurel Ivory in 2021.

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SCOUTING THE BADGERS: Wisconsin is 10-3-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten to stand in third place with 15 points with three match days remaining. The Badgers are coming off two consecutive losses to ranked Big Ten teams (2-1 to No. 6 Northwestern and 3-0 to No. 25 Penn State), which disrupted a 5-0 start to conference play and an eight-match winning streak from Sept. 4 to Oct. 2. The date at Rutgers will be their third consecutive Big Ten match against a ranked opponent.

All eyes will be on Emma Jaskaniec, whose 10 goals in 2022 rank tops in the Big Ten and 15th in the country. She has added four assists to pile up 24 points, again No. 1 in the Big Ten and 11th in the NCAA. Erin McKinney has played every minute in goal with a 1.13 goals-against average, a .798 save percentage, and six shutouts.

Wisconsin is 6-1-2 all-time against Rutgers since 1992. The Badgers have won three straight and are unbeaten since Rutgers' overtime win at Yurcak Field in 2017. This is the second time in the nine-match series that the contest is being played in Piscataway. The two sides played twice during the spring 2021 season, with Wisconsin winning 1-0 in the regular season in Madison and 2-1 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

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SENIOR SALUTE: The Scarlet Knights will pay tribute to seven members of its senior and graduate student classes on Senior Day Sunday.

Niamh Cashin: The graduate student back played her final year of eligibility with Rutgers after being named All-MAAC First Team at Rider. She has 47 career matches with three goals and four assists in her career from the backlines. She is working toward a master's degree in health administration at Rutgers.

Hailey Gutowski: The graduate student forward made a quick impact at Rutgers during her final year of eligibility, picking up five points in her first five games "On the Banks" during the Scarlet Knights' record-breaking 9-0 start to the year. She has played in all 15 matches this season, following up a successful career at Temple. Gutowski has played in 64 matches with 16 goals and eight assists. She is working toward a master's in special education at Rutgers.

Adriana Kuryla: The graduate student back persevered through injuries and setbacks to return to the Scarlet Knights for an impactful final season. After missing most of the last two years to injury, Kuryla made the starting lineup in six of the first nine games of 2022 during Rutgers' historic 9-0 start to the season, including a 90-minute effort in the season opening shutout at New Mexico. Kuryla has 51 matches played between Columbia and Rutgers. She is working toward a master's degree in adult and continuing education.

Meagan McClelland: The graduate student goalkeeper continues the Rutgers tradition of record-breaking keeper careers. She is the program and now NCAA record holder in goalkeeper minutes played, and is the NCAA active career leader in shutouts with 42. A three-time All-Region and four-time All-Big Ten performer, McClelland has played in 97 consecutive matches with a career goals-against average of 0.66. She is working toward a master's degree in supply chain management at Rutgers.

Emily Smith: The graduate student midfielder contributed minutes in four Rutgers victories this season after transferring for her final year from American. Smith has 60 career games played with five goals and eight assists. She is working toward a master's degree in supply chain management.

Allison Lynch: The senior back has been an anchor on the backline of Rutgers women's soccer for the past four years, providing leadership through example and through guidance. Lynch has 77 matches played with nearly 6,500 minutes of effort during the Scarlet Knights' successful run since her freshman season in 2019. She has chipped in three goals and three assists from her defensive position, while shutting down opposing offenses in 40 shutouts since the beginning of 2019. She will earn a degree in public health from Rutgers this spring.

Grace Walter: The senior goalkeeper has been an integral part of the program over the past four years, contributing to a nationally recognized goalkeeping corps and diligently challenging every field player to come through the program in training since 2019. She has 19 scoreless minutes of action in net at Rutgers. She will earn a third consecutive Academic All-Big Ten honor this fall before graduating with a degree in public health in the spring.

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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. 13, Rutgers is among the nation's leaders in goals (13th, 37), assists (8th, 36), and points (9th, 110). The 2.5 goals per match comes in at 17th in the nation.
Sam Kroeger owns four game-winning goals to rank eighth in the NCAA.
Meagan McClelland's seven shutouts are ranked No. 21 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, became the NCAA Division I all-time leader in minutes played in the sport of women's soccer with 8,998:08 (and counting).

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' offense has been powered by a selfless style of passing and an unpredictable source of origin. Thirty of their 37 goals have been assisted, and the total assists (36) are keeping up with the totals goals (37) 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 20 of the nation, no single player is ranked above No. 57 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 9,032:27 minutes played in her career, McClelland passed Virginia's Laurel Ivory NCAA record for all-time minutes played set 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 15 matches this season, including nine with three or fewer shots on target allowed.

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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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