PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 9 Rutgers women's soccer (5-0-0) continues a five-match homestand at Yurcak Field on Sun., Sept. 4 at 11 a.m. against Princeton (3-0-0). Attendance is free and fans are required to
register for free parking in the Blue Lot outside Yurcak Field (one-time registration for the 2022 season).
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HOW TO FOLLOW: Watch on B1G+ | Live Stats | WRSU | @ruwsoccer on Instagram
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PREVIOUSLY ON...
The Scarlet Knights continued their undefeated start to the season with a 7-0 victory over Temple (0-2-2) on Thursday evening at Yurcak Field. The Scarlet Knight defense did not allow a single Owl shot in the contest, allowing
Sam Kroeger's 10th minute goal to stand as the game-winner before
Emily Mason,
Kylie Daigle,
Becci Fluchel,
Allie Post,
Hailey Gutowski, and
Mallory McGuire added markers in the offensive onslaught.
It was the first time the program scored seven goals in a match since a 7-0 win over Mount St. Mary's on Aug. 31, 2017, and the first time the team held an opponent shotless since a 4-0 victory over Monmouth on Aug. 20, 2017.
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SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Princeton comes to Piscataway similarly undefeated at 3-0-0 with wins over Colgate (4-2), Fairfield (2-0), and Rhode Island (2-1). Sophomore
Heather MacNab and rookie
Kelsee Wozniak combined for 11 of the team's 17 points across the 2-0 opening weekend against Colgate and Fairfield. MacNab, who had a hat trick in a span of just 6:44 against Colgate and an assist on the first goal against Fairfield, was the Ivy Player of the Week and Wozniak, who had two assists and the team's final goal against Colgate, was the Ivy Rookie of the Week. Fresh,am
Pietra Tordin scored both goals in the 2-1 win at Rhode Island on Thursday, including the game-winner in the 75th minute.
The match renews a long intrastate rivalry played 30 times since 1984. Rutgers holds a 17-9-4 advantage in the series, but are looking for its first win since 2015. The two sides played to a 110-minute scoreless draw in 2019 in Princeton, and the Tigers scored a come-from-behind, 4-3 win last season in Piscataway to hand Rutgers its first loss after a 4-0-0 start.
Riley Tiernan scored twice, and
Allison Lynch added a goal, but with Rutgers up 3-1 in the 60th minute, the Tigers scored three unanswered over the final half hour, including a pair of penalties, to stun the No. 9 ranked Scarlet Knights.
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HOME SWEET HOME: Rutgers women's soccer is 207-68-29 all-time at Yurcak Field. The Scarlet Knights matched the 2015 program record last season with 13 home wins, including two in the Big Ten Tournament and four in the NCAA Tournament on the way to the NCAA Women's College Cup. The RU program has had a winning record at home in each season since 1998.
Before each and every home contest, a raucous Rutgers tailgate takes place in the parking lot three hours before kickoff. Then 90 minutes before kickoff, fans are encouraged to welcome the Scarlet Knights to Yurcak Field at the
Scarlet Walk located outside the ticket booth.
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ROAD WARRIORS: The two victories at the Lobo Invitational over New Mexico and UNLV, and the win at Providence marked the first time in program history that Rutgers played three matches away from home to start a season and won them all. The Aug. 25 road date at Providence was the first time RU played three matches away from home to start a season since 2001.
"To reach our goals, we have to win at home and we have to win on the road," said head coach
Mike O'Neill. "We want to challenge our comfort zone early, and we like the added benefit of bonding as a team and building team chemistry with some early time on the road together."
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RUTGERS RANKED: Rutgers is one of six teams in the country to begin 5-0-0. RU has been ranked No. 9 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 Sept. 1, Rutgers is among the nation's leaders in goals (5th, 18), assists (6th, 17), and points (6th, 53). The 3.6 goals per match comes in at ninth in the nation.
- Sophomore forward Riley Tiernan comes in at 20th in the nation with her three assists.
- Junior forward Allison Lowrey's two game-winning goals are 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. Thirteen of their 18 goals have been assisted, and the total assists (17) are keeping up with the totals goals (18) 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. The last nine goals spanning wins over Buffalo and Temple have all been scored by different players, including all seven against Temple on Thursday.
With Rutgers ranked in the nation's Top 10 in scoring metrics, the highest individual rank is
Allison Lowrey's three goals at No. 45 in the country.
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THE CLEANEST SHEET: With two shutouts in the first five matches, graduate student goalkeeper
Meagan McClelland opens the 2022 season as the NCAA Division I career leader in shutouts with 37. The Scarlet Knights' two shutouts rank sixth in the country in the early going.
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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GOAL GOAL OLIMPICO!: Rutgers' third goal against Temple caught the nation's eye on Thursday evening.
Sophomore Kylie
Daigle lit up Yurcak Field and soccer social media with her Olimpico goal, bent in from a corner kick into the far side netting for her second goal of the season. The shot made No. 3 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays that night.
"It came up in practice that it's something I've done before and can try to do again," Daigle said. "I said at practice I think I can whip it in back post. My coaches said, 'That's interesting, maybe you should try it.' So before the corner, my coach said, 'Just like we practiced!' I tried it, and it went it."
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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 Thursday, 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
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