UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 4 Rutgers women's soccer (9-0-0, 1-0-0) visits No. 17 Penn State (5-1-2, 0-0-1). The Scarlet Knights and the Nittany Lions were picked in a first-place tie in the 2022 Big Ten Coaches Preseason Poll, the first time the vote ended in a tie for the top spot in conference.

The Scarlet Knights have started a season 9-0-0 for the first time in program history and have won 11 consecutive Big Ten regular season matches after going 10-0 in the conference in 2021 en route to the school's first Big Ten championship in any sport.

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PREVIOUSLY ON...
Rutgers women's soccer made history on Sunday in a 2-0 victory over No. 21 Ohio State (5-2-1) at Yurcak Field in its 2022 Big Ten opener, becoming the only team in program history to start a season 9-0-0. On a day where the program celebrated its former players, teams, and the 50th anniversary of Title IX on Alumni Day, the present Scarlet Knights gave a nod to their predecessors by doing something never done "On the Banks." Nine matches to start a campaign. Nine wins.
 
"It's a great feeling," said junior midfielder Sara Brocious. "We set these goals at the beginning of the year. We were proud of going undefeated out of conference, but we always say conference play is a new slate. We came out knowing what we did last year, knowing how much more we can do, and we have so much faith in ourselves. We are proud, but excited to see what else we can do."
 
Allison Lowrey scored in the game's 6th minute, which went down as her third game-winning goal of the season as the Rutgers defense and goalkeeper Meagan McClelland recorded the shutout of the nationally ranked Buckeyes. The RU defense allowed just two shots on target all game, but Sara Brocious still bought some insurance in the 55th with her second goal of the season.

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SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: Penn State fell from No. 8 to No. 17 in this week's United Soccer Coaches national rankings after a scoreless draw at Indiana in its Big Ten opener. The Rutgers match marks Penn State's third chance against a ranked opponent, having defeated No. 21 West Virginia, 2-0, and losing to No. 12 Stanford, 2-0.

The Nittany Lions are scoring 1.6 goals per match, led by three apiece from Mieke Schiemann and Ally Schlegel. Kate Wisner leads the squad with four assists. Katherine Asman has the lion's share in net with a 0.78 goals-against average and a .800 save percentage with three shutouts.

In the tight all-time rivalry heading into its 24th playing, Penn State holds a slim 10-9-4 advantage. However, Rutgers has won three consecutive meetings, including last season's 2-1 win in Piscataway behind goals from Sam Kroeger and Becci Fluchel, who converted the game-winning penalty in the 81st minute. 

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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. The Scarlet Knights have now won 20 consecutive regular season games dating back to Sept. 16, 2021. The team's last regular season loss came on Sept. 12, 2021 at Georgetown.

Rutgers is the only team in the NCAA with a perfect record and nine wins.

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RUTGERS RANKED: Rutgers is the only team in the country to begin the season 9-0-0. RU has been ranked No. 4 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll for the second consecutive week. 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 Sept. 20, Rutgers is among the nation's leaders in goals (6th, 29), assists (7th, 28), and points (6th, 86). The 3.2 goals per match comes in at eighth in the nation.
• Sam Kroeger and Allison Lowrey each own three game-winning goals to rank seventh in the NCAA. Their six total goals both rank 25th in the country.
• Riley Tiernan has six assists, ranking 10th in the NCAA.
• 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-three of their 29 goals have been assisted, and the total assists (28) are keeping up with the totals goals (29) 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. Nine goals spanning wins over Buffalo and Temple were all scored by different players, including all seven against Temple on Sept. 1.

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NO GOAL PATROL: Led be reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Emily Mason, who has played all 90 minutes in six of her seven matches this season, the Rutgers defense is allowing a 0.55 goals-against average thanks to stingy shot defense. The Scarlet Knights have allowed five or fewer shots on goal in all nine matches, including six with three or fewer shots on target allowed. 

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THE CLEANEST SHEET: With four shutouts in the first nine matches, graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland opens the 2022 season as the NCAA Division I career leader in shutouts with 39. With 8,492:27 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.

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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.


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