ROSEMONT, Ill. – Rutgers women's soccer has been voted to repeat as Big Ten Conference champions, coming in a first-place tie with Penn State in the 2022 Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll released on Monday. 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.
 
The Scarlet Knights are coming off the first Big Ten title in program and school history in 2021 after going a perfect 10-0 during the regular season.
 
Three returners from that squad have been honored as 2022 Big Ten Women's Soccer Players to Watch: Graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland, junior midfielder Sara Brocious, and sophomore forward Riley Tiernan.
 


McClelland earned All-Big Ten Third Team and All-Region Third Team honors in 2021 after protecting the net on the run to the NCAA Women's College Cup. In the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight match against TCU, she made eight saves before saving three consecutive penalties and scoring one of her own in the victorious shootout. In another shootout in the next round against Arkansas, McClelland saved a PK and scored another to punch the Scarlet Knights' ticket to the Final Four.
 
The goalkeeper recorded 13 shutouts and 83 saves on the year, 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.
 
Brocious started in all 25 matches during the 2021 College Cup season, ranking fifth on the squad with 14 points on four goals and six assists while playing 1,976 minutes, coming in second among field players on the team last fall. Finding a knack for clutch situations, Brocious provided an assist in the 2-2 overtime win over Arkansas in the NCAA quarterfinals, and scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Wisconsin that clinched the Big Ten title.
 
Tiernan was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the ECAC Rookie of the Year, and a United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team selection following a breakout first year "On the Banks" featuring 29 points on eight goals and a team-best 13 assists, which marked a new program record for a single season. The Voorhees, New Jersey native also garnered All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors while sparking an offense that outscored opponents 64-17 on the year, which ended in the program's second College Cup appearance in seven years.
 
Tiernan started in all 25 matches during the College Cup season, including all 10 regular season conference games that led to a perfect 10-0 record and the school's first-ever Big Ten title. She passed out five assists in Big Ten matches, which was tied for first in the conference in 2021.
 
Rutgers returns nine starters and 17 letterwinners from the 2021 College Cup squad. Led by a program-high nine All-Big Ten selections, the team advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the third time since joining the league. In its 10th straight NCAA Tournament and first as a No. 1 seed, the team advanced to the College Cup for the second time and first time since 2015. Overall, a plethora of new program records were set by the squad, including total wins, goals, assists, points, winning streak, and more.
 
2022 BIG TEN WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. (tie) Rutgers
    (tie) Penn State
3. Michigan
4. Wisconsin
5. Ohio State
6. Michigan State
7. Purdue
8. Iowa
9. Minnesota
10. Indiana
11. Northwestern
12. Nebraska
13. Maryland
14. Illinois
 
2022 BIG TEN WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Ashley Cathro, R-Sr., D, Illinois
Eileen Murphy, Sr., D, Illinois
Kendra Pasquale, R-Sr., M, Illinois
Jamie Gerstenberg, So., GK, Indiana
Jordyn Levy, So., F, Indiana
Arianna Rose, Fr., D, Indiana
Samantha Cary, Sr., D, Iowa
Kenzie Roling, So., F, Iowa
Hailey Rydberg, Grad., M, Iowa
Malikae Dayes, Grad., F, Maryland
Mikayla Dayes, Grad., F, Maryland
Juliana Lynch, Jr., M, Maryland
Hannah Blake, Sr., M, Michigan
Lily Farkas, Sr., M, Michigan
Avery Kalitta, So., M, Michigan
Ruby Diodati, Grad., D, Michigan State
Lauren Kozal, R-Sr., GK, Michigan State
Samantha White, Grad., D, Michigan State
Sophia Boman, Jr., M, Minnesota
Izzy Brown, Sr., F, Minnesota
Megan Platschko, Sr., GK, Minnesota
Eleanor Dale, Jr., F, Nebraska
Reagan Raabe, Jr., M, Nebraska
Sarah Weber, So., F, Nebraska
Josie Aulicino, Jr., M, Northwestern
Meg Boade, Jr., F, Northwestern
Aurea del Carmen, Sr., M, Northwestern
Talani Barnett, Grad., D, Ohio State
Kayla Fischer, Grad., F, Ohio State
Sydney Jones, So., D, Ohio State
Penelope Hocking, Grad., F, Penn State
Payton Linnehan, Sr., F, Penn State
Ally Schlegel, R-Sr., F, Penn State
Sydney Duarte, Grad., M, Purdue
Gracie Dunaway, So., F, Purdue
Emily Mathews, Jr., M, Purdue
Sara Brocious, Jr., M, Rutgers
Meagan McClelland, Grad., GK, Rutgers
Riley Tiernan, So., F, Rutgers
Emma Jaskaniec, Sr., M, Wisconsin
Aidan McConnell, So., D, Wisconsin
Natalie Viggiano, Grad., M, Wisconsin


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-RU-