Starting XI: No. 14 Women's Soccer at Michigan

Oct 19 | Women's Soccer

Watch on BTN/Fox Sports App Live Stats 2022 Record Book

The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights visit the Wolverines on Thu., Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 14 Rutgers women's soccer (13-1-2, 5-1-2) heads out on its final regular season road trip of the season at Michigan (6-7-3, 1-5-2) on Thu., Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. ET and airing live on Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Lauren Link on the call. It's the penultimate match of the regular season, with No. 6 Michigan State looming in the finale on Sun., Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

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HOW TO FOLLOW: Watch on Big Ten Network/Fox Sports App | Live Stats

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PREVIOUSLY ON...
Rutgers sent its seniors off in style in a 2-0 victory over Wisconsin (10-4-2, 5-3-0) on Sunday afternoon at Yurcak Field. The Scarlet Knights are unbeaten over their last six.

Becci Fluchel scored a penalty goal as the game-winner in the 14th minute, Sara Brocious scored an insurance goal in the 50th as Wisconsin was playing down a woman due to a red card in the 40th minute, and Meagan McClelland made five saves in her eighth shutout of the season and 43rd of her career.

"We locked in on not giving up goals," said Fluchel, a defensive-minded midfielder. "We've given up way more than we would have liked this season, so it's definitely a focus for us as we end the regular season and looking forward. It starts with denying service and denying shots."

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SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan started the season with a ranked win over No. 20 Washington State and a ranked 1-1 draw with No. 19 Colorado. In Big Ten play, Michigan is winless since a 1-0 victory at Minnesota on Sept. 29, followed by a 1-1 draw at Iowa and consecutive losses to Michigan State (2-0), No. 5 Northwestern (3-0) and No. 25 Penn State (3-0). The Rutgers match will mark a third-straight contest against a ranked opponent.

Junior Sammi Woods leads the team with seven goals, while graduate student Meredith Haakenson has scored the past two Wolverines goals (at Minnesota, Iowa) and has five tallies on the year. Michigan is 5-1 in the final week of Big Ten play under head coach Jennifer Klein.

The matchup is a rematch of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament championship game, which Michigan won 1-0 at Yurcak Field in Piscataway. RU is 4-3-2 all-time against Michigan since joining the Big Ten in 2014, but is 1-1-1 in Ann Arbor. Rutgers won 4-1 at home during the 2021 regular season behind a goal and two assists from Riley Tiernan.

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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-one of their 34 goals scored in the run of play have been assisted, and the total assists (38) are keeping up with the totals goals (39) thanks to one-time passing crediting double assists. Four of Rutgers' 38 goals have been scored from the penalty spot.

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. 74 in scoring (Sam Kroeger and Allison Lowrey's seven goals).KYLIE KICKS: Sophomore midfielder Kylie Daigle has recorded a point in four consecutive matches, and in 10 of Rutgers' 13 wins this season. Earlier this season, she had a streak of seven consecutive matches with a point during Rutgers' historic 9-0 start to the campaign. The Millville, New Jersey native is second on the team with 17 points on five goals and a team-high seven assists.

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KYLIE KICKS: Sophomore midfielder Kylie Daigle has recorded a point in four consecutive matches, and in 10 of Rutgers' 13 wins this season. Earlier this season, she had a streak of seven consecutive matches with a point during Rutgers' historic 9-0 start to the campaign. The Millville, New Jersey native is second on the team with 17 points on five goals and a team-high seven assists.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. 14 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. 19, Rutgers is among the nation's leaders in goals (9th, 39), assists (7th, 38), and points (8th, 116). The 2.4 goals per match comes in at 16th in the nation.
Sam Kroeger owns four game-winning goals to rank 11th in the NCAA.
Meagan McClelland's eight shutouts are ranked No. 12 in the country.
Kylie Daigle's seven assists are tops in the Big Ten and No. 20 in the nation.
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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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.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). She heads to Michigan with 9,122:27 career minutes played.

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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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). She heads to Michigan with 9,122:27 career minutes played.

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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THE CLEANEST SHEET: With eight shutouts in 2022, graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland continues her reign as the NCAA Division I career leader in shutouts with 43. With 9,122:27 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 16 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.

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