Starting XI: Women's Soccer vs. Providence

Sep 06 | Women's Soccer

The 11 things to know before the Scarlet Knights host the Friars on Thu., Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. at Yurcak Field.

I

THE DETAILS

Thu., Sept. 7
7 p.m. at Yurcak Field (Piscataway, N.J.)
Rutgers (2-2-2)
vs. Providence (5-0-0)

4 p.m. Tailgate in Yurcak Lot
5:30 p.m. Scarlet Walk outside Ticket Office Gate
Cavalry Kick-Off | Register for the Cavalry here and get your free pizza at the game!
Watch on B1G+ | Live Stats | Listen on WRSU

II

PREVIOUSLY ON...

Rutgers women's soccer dropped a 2-0 final score to No. 14 Georgetown (4-0-1) on a balmy Monday afternoon at Yurcak Field. Georgetown scored twice in the second half to break the deadlock, with the first score coming in the 55th minute by Henley Tippins off a corner kick. A minute and 27 seconds later, the Hoyas went ahead 2-0 after a shot from the corner of the 18-yard box by Allie Winstanley.

III

SCOUTING THE FRIARS

Providence is undefeated at 5-0 for its best start in program history and have yet to allow a goal in 2023. Top Drawer Soccer has the Friars at No. 22 in the nation in this week's rankings. A trio of Friars won recent Big East weekly awards with Thaea Mouratidis taking Offensive Player of the Week, Kayla Briggs earning Freshman of the Week, and Abbey Finn landing on the honor roll.

Briggs has six points on a goal and four assists, with Meg Hughes tied for team-lead with six points on a team-high three goals. Emma Bodmer and Katherine McElroy have split time evenly thus far with five shared shutouts. Bodmer is 4-0, while McElroy accounts for the other win at 1-0.

Former Big East member Rutgers is 17-2-1 against Providence all-time, including an 8-0-1 mark at Yurcak Field. The Scarlet Knights are unbeaten at 3-0-1 over the last four meetings dating back to 2016, including three wins in a row in 2019, 2021, and 2022. The Friars' last win came in 2011, a 1-0 victory in the first round of the Big East Tournament. In the 2022 meeting, the Scarlet Knights won, 3-0, in Rhode Island with goals from Gia Girman, Becci Fluchel, and Kylie Daigle.

IV

SIBLING RIVALRY

Thursday's matchup will feature a pair of sisters projected to start in goal. Rutgers redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer has started her collegiate career this season with three shutouts, a 0.71 goals-against average, and an .826 save percentage. Her older sister and fellow Monroe Township, New Jersey native, senior Emma Bodmer, has started all five matches for Providence during its perfect start to the season with 13 saves. Emma has 10 solo shutouts in 55 games played with a career 1.04 goals-against average and .759 save percentage.

The sister vs. sister match continues a national trend across the NCAA. The following matches in Division I feature sibling rivalries in 2023:

Kam (Siena) vs. Shea (Syracuse) Vanderbosch - August 20
Lexie (Kansas) vs. Sydney (Vanderbilt) Watts - August 24
Anna (Washington) vs. Sally (Santa Clara) Menti - August 24
Kyla (Fordham) vs. Ava (Stony Brook) King - August 31 - Both starting goalkeepers
Mady (South Dakota) vs. Mary (Idaho State) Za - September 1
Jamie (BYU) vs. Jenna (Utah Valley) Shepherd - September 2
Trinity (Texas) vs. Treasure (SMU) Byars - September 3
Oliva (Rutgers) vs. Emma (Providence) Bodmer - September 7 - Both starting goalkeepers
Megan (Siena) vs. Kaylee (Manhattan) Stowell - September 9
KK (Lipscomb) vs. Trace (Central Arkansas) Pavatt - October 1
Phoebe (Duke) vs. Peyton (Virginia) Goldthwaite - October 1
Mihaela (UC Irvine) vs. Jenae (Cal State Fullerton) Perez - October 5
Emily (North Carolina) vs. Abbie (Wake Forest) Colton - October 13

V

HATS OFF

Senior forward Allison Lowrey netted Rutgers' first hat trick since 2019 in the 7-0 victory over FDU on Aug. 31. The trio of goals gave the Bridgewater, New Jersey native a team-high five on the season, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 21st in the country. Lowrey now has 20 career goals with the Scarlet Knights.

VI

WATCH OUT

Rutgers women's soccer senior midfielders Sara Brocious and Becci Fluchel, along with junior forward Riley Tiernan, have been named Big Ten Players to Watch ahead of the 2023 season.

Tiernan also earned a mention 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 2021 Big Ten Rookie of the Year followed up with four goals and six assists in her second collegiate year, including the helper on the game-winning goal in the dramatic, 3-2 comeback win against LSU. The Voorhees, New Jersey striker has 19 career assists, already good for eighth place in the RU record book.

Brocious was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team after starting in all 20 games in 2022 with five goals and seven assists. Two of those goals went down as game-winners, including the lone tally in the 1-0 victory over Big Ten foe Maryland. The senior from Voorhees, New Jersey heads into the 2023 campaign with 16 career assists, tied for 12th all-time at RU.

Fluchel was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team in 2022 and produced another integrally dynamic season as a defensive midfielder. The Pittstown, New Jersey native can be seen on every inch of the pitch, chipping into Rutgers' nine shutouts last year while also scoring 10 points on three goals and four assists. The rising senior played and started in all 20 matches with an average of 85 minutes per game, including 15 matches of the full 90 minutes played.

VII

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.

VIII

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 eighth all-time with 19 and needs four more to enter the Top 5. Brocious has 17 career assists, breaking into the Top 10 in a tie with RU greats Carli Lloyd and Taylor Aylmer. The all-time assist record at Rutgers is 29 set by Gina DeMaio from 2006-10.

IX

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 six games to start their Rutgers careers.

X

LIVING 'VICARI'OUSLY

Rutgers women's soccer welcomes impact transfer Gia Vicari to the 2023 roster. The Georgetown transfer and dynamic forward will be a graduate student at Rutgers and will play her final year of eligibility "On the Banks" after leading the nationally ranked and three-time Big East champion Hoyas in scoring over the past three seasons.

Vicari is coming off a 2022 season that earned Second Team All-East Region honors from United Soccer Coaches, along with All-Big East First Team honors after leading Georgetown with six goals and four assists during a 15-2-5 season. The Hoyas won the 2022 Big East Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, ending the season ranked No. 19.

Vicari picked up her first Rutgers goal in the 7-0 victory over FDU on Aug. 28.

XI

RETURNING EXPERIENCE

Ten of 11 primary starters return. Eleven point scorers are back representing 116 of last season's 125, and on defense, the 'No Service, No Shots, No Goals' mantra still rings true for a defense that posted nine shutouts in 2022. The Scarlet Knights return a total of 18 players from the 2022 roster that went 13-5-2 and qualified for an 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament, including 16 with playing time on the books. Twelve returners started at least one match last season, with 10 starting 12 or more matches.

All but three goals from the 42 netted in '22, and all but three assists, are accounted for in the returning class this fall. The Scarlet Knights also bring some hardware forward from the 2022 season, with returning All-America Third Team selection Emily Mason back on defense. Mason was one of four United Soccer Coaches All-Region picks, joining Riley Tiernan (Second Team), Sara Brocious (Third Team), and Sam Kroeger (Third Team). Those four, along with Allison Lowrey and Emma Misal, all earned All-Big Ten awards last fall, with Mason earning First Team honors.

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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