Starting XI: No. 10 Women's Soccer vs. Indiana

Oct 08 | Women's Soccer

Watch on ESPN2 Listen on WRSU Live Stats 2022 Record Book

The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights host the Hoosiers on Sun., Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 10 Rutgers women's soccer (11-1-1, 3-1-1) begins a three-match homestand hosting Indiana (2-4-6, 0-4-1) on Sun., Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. ET at Yurcak Field and live on ESPN2 with Steve Schlanger and Lori Lindsey on the call.

It is Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Yurcak Field. Breast cancer survivors Sandra Lowrey and Jeanette Mason, the respective mothers of Rutgers student-athletes Allison and Emily, will serve as honorary captains on Sunday. Additionally, the first 250 fans at Yurcak Field on Sunday will receive a pink headband, courtesy of RWJBarnabas Health.

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HOW TO FOLLOW: Watch on ESPN2 | Live Stats | Listen on WRSU | @ruwsoccer on Instagram

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PREVIOUSLY ON...
Rutgers blanked Purdue (3-8-1, 0-4-1) in a 3-0 victory last Sunday afternoon at Folk Field and live on Big Ten Network. Junior forward Sam Kroeger scored 4:21 into the contest, then sophomore back Emily Mason recorded her first collegiate brace before halftime to push Rutgers to an early 3-0 lead it would not relinquish in Rutgers' seventh shutout win of the season. Sophomore midfielder Kylie Daigle assisted the first two goals in the victory and junior midfielder Becci Fluchel assisted the third.

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SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS: Indiana is 2-4-6 overall and 0-4-1 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers started the season with eight consecutive matches without conceding a single goal, including six scoreless draws. The 0-0 result against then-No. 8 Penn State tied the defensive program record of 720 consecutive minutes of scoreless soccer. Since then, Indiana has lost four straight in the Big Ten while being outscored, 11-0.

Jordyn Levy leads the offense with five points on two goals and an assist, followed by Ava Akeel's four points on a pair of goals. Jamie Gerstenberg was in net for Indiana's six shutouts, sporting a 0.56 GAA and .875 SV%.

Rutgers leads the all-time series over Indiana, 6-1-1, while outscoring the Hoosiers, 10-3, since RU joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014. That record includes a 4-0 mark for Rutgers when the match is played in Piscataway. Last season, the Scarlet Knights defeated IU 2-0 on the road to clinch the outright Big Ten Championship title behind a four-save shutout from goalkeeper Meagan McClelland.

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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 in a 10th place tie 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. 7, Rutgers is among the nation's leaders in goals (11th, 34), assists (7th, 34), and points (9th, 102). The 2.6 goals per match comes in at 14th in the nation.
Sam Kroeger owns four game-winning goals to rank fifth in the NCAA.
Riley Tiernan and Sara Brocious each have six assists, ranking 24th in the NCAA.
Meagan McClelland's six shutouts are ranked No. 20 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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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 34 goals have been assisted, and the total assists (34) are keeping up with the totals goals (34) 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 15 of the nation, no single player is ranked above No. 35 in scoring (Sam Kroeger and Allison Lowrey's seven goals).

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CHASING HISTORY: 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.

Graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland is already the school record holder in minutes played and with 95 matches played, is chasing Amirah Ali's program record of 103.

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THE CLEANEST SHEET: With six shutouts in the first 13 matches, graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland opens the 2022 season as the NCAA Division I career leader in shutouts with 41. With 8,852:27 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 13 matches this season, including seven 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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