Rutgers University
Columbia
NCAA Tournament Starting XI: Women's Soccer at Columbia
Nov 11 | Women's Soccer
The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights play a first round NCAA Tournament match against the Lions on Sun., Nov. 12 at noon on ESPN+.
I
THE DETAILS
NCAA Tournament First RoundSun., Nov. 12
12 p.m. ET at Rocco B. Commisso Stadium (New York, N.Y.)
Rutgers (9-6-4)
vs. (8) Columbia (10-4-3)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM
II
THE BIG DANCE
RU continues a longstanding tradition of NCAA Championships soccer, making the bracket for the 12th year in a row, 14th time in the last 16 years, and 18th time overall. The Scarlet Knights have been ranked or receiving votes for 16 straight seasons. The team enters the NCAA Tournament at No. 37 in the latest RPI. Rutgers will look to make at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in its 18th appearance in the championship bracket.The Scarlet Knights are 15-12-9 overall in the NCAA Tournament.
It will be the Lions' second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Columbia is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 when the Lions won the Ivy League and clinched the automatic bid into the tournament. The Lions used a strong push at the end of the season to secure an at-large bid and a seed to be one of the 32 school hosting the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Columbia will be looking for its first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
The winner of Sunday's game will move on to the second round in South Carolina to face No. 1-seeded Clemson, who defeated Radford, 2-0, in the first round on Friday.
III
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Columbia rattled off back-to-back shutout wins over Yale and Princeton to wrap up the regular season and a secure one of four spots in the Ivy League Tournament. The Lions shocked No. 14 Brown in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals before falling to Harvard in the championship game. Three wins in the last four games boosted Columbia's RPI up the No. 20, which helped Columbia secure an at-large bid and a seed to host the first round.
The Lions sport a goals-against average of 0.58, which ranks 18th in the NCAA. Columbia has tied the program record of 10 shutouts for a single season that was set in 1998. One more shutout would set a new program record of shutouts in a single season. Goalkeeper Paige Nurkin is one shutout away from tying the program record for shutouts in a single season.
The Lions had five individuals honored in this year's All-Ivy awards following the completion of the regular season. Senior goalkeeper Paige Nurkin and senior midfielder Kat Jordan highlighted the list by earning First Team All-Ivy honors, with Jordan leading the squad with 18 points on eight goals and two assists. Junior defender Ania Prussak and senior forward Nata Ramirez took home Second Team All-Ivy honors, while junior Courtney Ruedt earned honorable mention status.
This is Rutgers' first meeting with Columbia.
IV
B1G HONORS
Rutgers women's soccer placed four Scarlet Knights on the 2023 All-Big Ten awards, announced by the conference office on Friday. Juniors Riley Tiernan and Emily Mason have been named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, and Olivia Bodmer and Ashley Baran have been selected to the All-Freshman Team, with Bodmer representing the only unanimous pick among the Big Ten first-years. Graduate student Allison Lynch earned a spot on the All-Sportsmanship Team.V
THE SCARLET WALL
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer ranks 25th in the nation with nine solo shutouts, and the Scarlet Knights defense anchored by Allison Lynch, Kassidy Banks, Emily Mason, Naila Schoefberger, Emma Misal, and Becci Fluchel have combined for 10 total shutouts. The defense has held opposing offenses to four shots on goal or less in 10 matches this fall, including five of the last six matches (shutout wins over Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio State). Bodmer was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 12 after posting consecutive 1-0 shutouts against Providence and UMass to close non-conference play.Allison Lynch just became the third player in Rutgers women's soccer history to play in 100 career matches. She has played in 100 percent of Rutgers' games since stepping foot on campus as a freshman in 2019.
VI
MAINTAINING MOMENTUM
Rutgers is unbeaten in five of its last six matches, including four wins over the final five regular season matches of the season. Rutgers owns three shutout victories over NCAA RPI Top 50 teams, including No. 34 Ohio State on the road, No. 42 Providence, and No. 50 Michigan. They earned three draws on the road against teams in the NCAA RPI Top 25, including shutouts against No. 17 Princeton and No. 21 Wisconsin, and a 2-2 draw at No. 23 Nebraska.VII
TIERNAN UP THE DEFENSE
Junior forward Riley Tiernan has three goals and four assists on the 2023 season, but the stat line still doesn't tell the full story of the superstar from Voorhees, New Jersey. The highlight reel also shows elite ball skills in the attacking third, and the premonitions of said skills drawing double and triple teams from opposing backs - opening up opportunities and chances for her teammates."I don't really care much about my personal stats," Tiernan said. "It's more about getting the results for the team. So I want to put myself into dangerous spots, whether I'm getting the ball or not, making plays, being creative, and to put pressure on the other team to allow us to be more successful in the attack."
The 2021 Big Ten Rookie of the Year has been named on the United Soccer Coaches National Players to Watch list for forwards for the second consecutive season. Tiernan was one of three Big Ten players on the national watch list, joining Rebecca Cooke from Penn State and Sarah Weber from Nebraska. Tiernan earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team and All-Big Ten Third Team accolades during her sophomore season in 2022. The striker has 22 career assists, already good for sixth place in the RU record book.
"We always say that our next game is the most important game of the year," Tiernan said. "We need to continue to be vocal with each other and continue to stay focused. We have a lot of core values we go over during meetings, and I think we changed our dynamic at practice because of that. Everyone works 10 times harder. We're there to learn and get better. And I think everyone's locked in and knows how it feels to lose and knows how it feels to win. And we all obviously like winning much more."
Tiernan was at the middle of the 2021 College Cup run and the best start to any season at 9-0-0 in 2022. She helped set the standards, and now is assuming a leadership role in resetting the group when those standards have not lived up to their own expectations to start 2023.
"My sister [assistant coach Madison Richard] always says you don't have to respect us, but you will fear us," Tiernan said. "We use that as motivation. I think that a lot of teams overlook Rutgers and kind of laugh in the face of Rutgers sometimes. And I think that we should just take that and use that as ammunition to come out and work harder than every other team. And no matter how talented another team is compared to us, we're just going to be hungrier and we're going to have more of that bite than they do. And that's going to get us the results that we want in the end."
That first goal of the season feeling‼️@RUWSoccer wins 2-0 on opening night. pic.twitter.com/6MJ58O6VhE
— Big Ten Soccer (@B1GSoccer) August 18, 2023
VIII
THE ARMBANDS
Rutgers women's soccer head coach Mike O'Neill has named Becci Fluchel, Allison Lynch, and Emma Misal as captains of the 2023 Scarlet Knights squad.The trio has been at the center of Rutgers' sustained success over the past four years, which included consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, the undefeated 2021 Big Ten Championship, and the run to the 2021 NCAA College Cup. Fluchel and Misal enter their senior seasons, while Lynch returns for her fifth year "On the Banks." This high-performing group has been part of a backline that allowed just 12 goals in 18 regular-season games in 2022, including only three during the historic 9-0 start to the year.
Lynch returns for her second captainship in her fifth year with nearly 7,000 minutes of action on defense for the Scarlet Knights. She led the team with 88.2 minutes per game in 2022. Not shy to move forward, Lynch scored an important goal in a 2-2 draw with Minnesota last fall and carries nine career points on three goals and three assists into her final season. The Bridgewater, New Jersey native played all 90 minutes in 17 of her 20 games last season, including the final 15 of the campaign.
Misal earns her first captain's armband after being named Third Team All-Big Ten as a back in 2022. The defender from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has contributed to one of the nation's top defenses over the past three years, chipping in on five Rutgers shutouts last fall. Misal worked back from a training camp injury to earn a starting job during the season's final 12 matches, which included 85-plus minute efforts in the last four games.
IX
CHASING HISTORY
Riley Tiernan (6) and Sara Brocious (7) led in assists last season and are marching up the record book in career helpers at RU. Tiernan is tied for fourth all-time with 23. Brocious has 19 career assists, ranked eighth after breaking a tie with all-time great Carli Lloyd and fellow professional Taylor Aylmer. The all-time assist record at Rutgers is 29 set by Gina DeMaio from 2006-10.
X
NEW KIDS "ON THE BANKS"
Rutgers women's soccer head coach Mike O'Neill welcomes 11 freshmen to the program for the 2023 season, including nine hailing from New Jersey. The class includes Brianna Azevedo, Ashley Baran, Ava Brass, Audrey Cain, Elliot Forney, Gabriela Gil, Alyssa Martinez, Reilly McGlinn, Shannon Reiser, Olivia Russomanno, and Tehya Scheuten.
This standout group includes a New Jersey Player of the Year, All-Americans, multiple national and state champions at the high school and club levels, and numerous All-State honorees.
Baran scored her first collegiate goal against FDU on Aug. 28, while Russomanno picked up her first point with an assist in that 7-0 victory. The rookie teammates have played in all 18 matches to start their Rutgers careers. Baran started in four consecutive matches in October and Russomanno earned her first start in Rutgers' match against Michigan, starting in three straight. The pair of first-years are two of eight Scarlet Knights to play in 100 percent of this season's matches.
XI
MASON MARKS
Junior back Emily Mason has been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for National Player of the Year and a 2023 Player to Watch by United Soccer Coaches. The Flemington, New Jersey native has also been listed on Top Drawer Soccer's Big Ten Conference preview as one of five Players to Watch, along with an honor on Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Best XI Third Team.A Third-Team All-American, All-Big Ten First Team, and All-North Region First Team selection as a sophomore in 2022, Mason turned in 14 matches with the full 90 minutes played, contributing to eight shutouts on the Scarlet Knight defense. The versatile, 5-foot-10 defender has also chipped in on the attack, scoring her first collegiate goal in a 7-0 win against Temple on Sept. 1 and then scoring her first collegiate brace in a 3-0 win at Purdue on Oct. 2. She also added an important assist in the 1-1 draw at then-No. 8 Northwestern on Sept. 29. Mason missed the first two contests of the season while serving with the United States Youth National Team at the U20 World Cup in Costa Rica. She previously won gold with the USYNT at the Concacaf Women's Championship and the Sud Ladies Cup in 2021.
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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