THE DETAILS
Thurs., Aug. 15
6 p.m. atLubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium(Newark, N.J.)
Rutgers (0-0-0)
vs. NJIT(0-0-0)
LOOKING FOR MORE IN 2024
Last season, the Scarlet Knights continued 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 18thtime overall after a 9-win regular season campaign. RU placed four on the 2023 All-Big Ten awards. Then-juniorsRiley TiernanandEmily MasonearnedAll-Big Ten Second Team, with Mason earning All-Region Second Team and Tiernangrabbing All-Region Third Team honors. Rutgersfinished the regular season unbeaten in five of its final six, rising to No. 37 in the RPI rankings. Their results were highlighted by three shutout victories over NCAA RPI Top 50 teams, including No. 34 Ohio State on the road, No. 42 Providence, and No. 50 Michigan.
"We've been focusing on our relationships and making sure we're all on the same page before the season starts," Tiernan said. "We know what we're chasing. It's important to remember that throughout the season as things get challenging. We'll be reminding ourselves why we're working so hard and why we're working for each other."
Rutgers finished 5-4-1 in the Big Ten last season for a sixth-place tie, qualifying for the conference tournament for a perfect 10th consecutive year since joining the Big Ten in 2014. The Scarlet Knights welcome 12 newcomers (eight first-years and four transfers) to the roster, joining 19 returning players in 2024, including the six seniors that won the Big Ten title with a 10-0 record and went to the College Cup (NCAA Tournament semifinals) in 2021.
"We are super close; these are my best friends," said senior forward Gia Girman. "We've been playing together for years and it translates well on the field because we love each other like sisters. I think it shows up on the field with how comfortable we are."
"The senior class has been to the College Cup," said senior midfielder Kylie Daigle. "Our goal is to make it back and win the whole thing."
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
In 2023, the Highlanders posted a 7-7-5 overall record and a 3-4-1 record in America East play. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the America East Tournament by UMass Lowell, 3-1. Under Nick's guidance, NJIT achieved its first .500 or better record since 2018 and reached the league playoffs as the No. 5 seed. This marked the program's second-best finish in four years as an America East member (5th; finished 3rd in 2021).
The Highlanders are led by rising juniorBriana Andreoli, who was selected to the 2024 America East Conference Women's Soccer Preseason All-Conference team. Andreoli, an America East first-team selection last season, played in all 19 matches (one of nine players to do so) while making five starts. She led the team with six goals while adding first three assists for a team-high 15 points. Entering the 2023 America East tournament, her goal and point totals were tied for third in the conference.
This is the first meeting between the two teams.
B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH
Rutgers women's soccer senior backsKassidy BanksandEmily Mason, along with senior forwardRiley Tiernan, have been named Big Ten Players to Watch ahead of the 2024 season.
Banks, since earning a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2021's College Cup season, has been a staple on the backline "On the Banks" with 62 matches played. Banks has been in the back for 32 shutouts over her three seasons. Banks earned captainship for the Scarlet Knights for the first time ahead of the 2024 season.
Mason, a 2024 United Soccer Coaches National Defender to Watch,played in all 20 matches with 17 starts in 2023, contributing to 10 team shutouts and scoring one goal. Mason played the full 90 minutes in all of Rutgers' 10 regular season Big Ten matches,which included five victories and four shutouts by Mason and the defense. The backs allowed four or less shots on goal in 11 matches last fall, including the final four of the regular season. Mason enters her final season firmly on the radar of international and professional soccer having won a gold medal with the United States U20 Youth National Team at the Concacaf Women's Championship and the Sud Ladies Cup.
Tiernanscored three goals and added four assists in the 2023 regular season, while also drawing the eye of double-teams and opposing coaching plans throughout her 20-match campaign. She played at least 85 minutes in all 10 Big Ten matches, while netting a goal in the win against Michigan and assists in the win against Purdue and the draw at Nebraska. Tiernan will enter her senior season tied for 4th all-time at Rutgers with 23 career assists and seven away from setting a new all-time record "On the Banks."
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Redshirt sophom*ore goalkeeperOlivia Bodmerranked 27th in the NCAA and fourth in the Big Ten with nine solo shutouts in 2023. Four of those shutouts came in Big Ten play, and one came in the 0-0 penalty shootout loss to No. 16 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals. In another Big Ten showdown, Bodmer made a career-high nine saves, including seven in the scoreless second half, to earn a point from a 2-2 draw at Nebraska. Bodmer was named the only unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in addition to winning Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 12 of last season.
CHASING HISTORY
Senior forward Riley Tiernan enters her final season tied for 4th all-time at Rutgers with 23 career assists and seven away from setting a new all-time record "On the Banks." Tiernan is tied with Lynn Hallowell (1985-88) and Beth Uydess (1990-93) and is chasing Beth Schimenti's (1986-89) 24, Jennifer Gibbons' (1989-92) 27, and Gina DeMaio's (2006-10) record 29.
RETURNING POINTS
Rutgers returns 32 of its 78 points from last season (41%). Ashley Baran, the second-leading returning point scorer, was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2023.
Riley Tiernan (10 points - 3 goals, 4 assists)
Ashley Baran (7 points - 3 goals, 1 assist)
Kylie Daigle (5 points - 2 goals, 1 assist)
Gia Girman (4 points - 2 goals)
Emily Mason (2 points - 1 goal)
Allie Post (2 points - 2 assists)
Olivia Russomanno (2 points - 2 assists)
THE NEW B1G
Rutgers is now part of the 18-team Big Ten Conference with the addition of UCLA, Oregon, USC, and Washington. The Scarlet Knights will host Oregon (Sept. 19) and Washington (Sept. 22) as part of the expansion. The new 11-game Big Ten schedule feeds into the new conference tournament format, which qualifies 12 teams to the Big Ten Tournament. The top four seeds receive first-round byes. The first round and quarterfinals will be hosted by Minnesota, followed by the semifinal and championship rounds at a neutral site to be announced.
NEW KIDS "ON THE BANKS"
Head coach Mike O'Neill has signed eight first-year players to join the Scarlet Knights program for the 2024 season, including five hailing from New Jersey. The class includesShaela Bradley, Gianna Delgado, Charlotte Garcia, Claire Hammill, Mikayla Mandleur, Gabby Miller, Riley Morris,andMadelyn O'Neill.
Bradley is the 2023 Gatorade State Player of the Year from Washington. Garcia is a two-time All-State player from New Jersey, the third-highest scorer in Hightstown High School history, and a Top 100 Player in New Jersey Girls Soccer. Hammill, hailing from Michigan, earned an invitation to the United States Youth National Team regional identification camp in 2022. Mandleur is an All-American from East Brunswick, N.J. and PDA. Miller is a two-time South Jersey Midfielder of the Year and three-time All-State selection from Seneca High.
A NEW HOME
Rutgers added four transfer players during the offseason.
Sophom*ore midfielder Patricia Tsokos (Arkansas)Tsokos played in eight matches during her freshman season at Arkansas, scoring a goal in her collegiate debut in the season opening 6-0 win over Arkansas State. Arkansas went on to claim the SEC regular season championship, finished runner-up in the SEC Tournament, and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out with a 15-5-2 overall record. Before college, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native won gold with Team Ontario at the 2022 Canada Summer Games. Tsokos was a 2022 League 1 Ontario Premier Division champion playing with the U18 Ontario Provincial Excel team.
Graduate student goalkeeper Arden Lembryk (Mount St. Mary's), a Wayne, New Jersey native, returns to her home state after starring at Mount St. Mary's in Maryland, where she was a four-time conference defensive player of the week with The Mount. Near the end of her senior season, Lembryk was called in for penalties and stopped three attempts in a MAAC Tournament victory over Niagara. A product of PDA, she recorded a shutout in 41 of 63 career games in high school.
Graduate student goalkeeper Rachel Quigley (Virginia Wesleyan)is a United Soccer Coaches All-American. Quigley led her squad to the Division III College Cup in 2022 and was honored with Third Team All-America after producing a .918 save percentage, the highest in a season at the school. Quigley is just as strong in the classroom, earning a United Soccer Coaches Second Team Scholar All-America honor in 2023 after winning the ODAC Defensive Player and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards. A Columbus, New Jersey native, Quigley is another product of PDA.
Graduate student back/midfielder Sydney Urban (Maryland) will play her final season in Scarlet after playing her first two seasons at Florida and her previous two at Maryland. Urban logged 32 matches with 25 starts over the past two years with the Terrapins, helping Maryland hold George Mason to zero shots last September. At Florida from 2020-21, she appeared in 37 games with 27 starts, averaging 70 minutes per match as a first-year – good for sixth among Gator field players. Prior to college, she won an ENCL National Championship with PDA and earned All-America and All-State honors in high school.
SCHEDULE SNAPSHOT
RU will play seven teams that qualified for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including conference tournament champions Iowa (Big Ten) and Maine (America East). Rutgers will face two first-time opponents in NJIT and Oregon, and will host the ACC's Wake Forest in the first meeting against the Demon Deacons since 1996. The Scarlet Knights host NCAA qualifier Maine(Sept, 1) and will face six NCAA qualifiers from the Big Ten - away at Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State, and home to Nebraska and Iowa.
Stay up to date on the latest news and schedule updates by following Rutgers women's soccer onTwitter,Instagram, andFacebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App forAppleorAndroidtoday.
-RU-
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