SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22
DI: NO. 4 RUTGERS vs NO. 1 NORTHWESTERN | 11 AM ET | B1G+ ($)
Two teams remain undefeated in B1G conference play. One is undefeated overall. No. 4 Rutgers and No. 1 Northwestern clash in a top-five match-up on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Rutgers (14-0, 5-0 B1G) remains unbeaten after a thrilling match against then-No. 9 Ohio State last Friday. Both the Buckeyes and the Scarlet Knights were unable to tally a single goal in regulation or two overtime periods. Goalkeeper Sophia Howard came up clutch, making five saves and rejecting two shootout attempts. Sophomore Ava Cickavage sealed the deal for Rutgers, burying her shootout attempt in the goal to end the game. Continuing to shine on the defensive line, Puck Winter registered a defensive save in the match, as well as in the 3-1 win over Michigan State two days later, and earned the honors of B1G and Division I Defensive Player of the Week.
Back on top, Northwestern (13-1, 5-0 B1G) has won 13 consecutive matches after their opening loss. The Wildcats picked up a B1G 2-0 win over Iowa two weeks ago, then followed it up this past weekend by shutting out Ohio 5-0. Northwestern boasts a tough defense that has only allowed seven goals in their 14 games, and a goalkeeper – Annabel Skubisz – who sits on top of the Division I stats for goals against average (0.50).
Last season, the Wildcats defeated the Scarlet Knights 2-1 in overtime in the opening round of the B1G tournament.
DI: VCU vs MONMOUTH | 1 PM ET | ESPN+ ($)
Monmouth will travel to Richmond, Va. for one final non-conference game against VCU on Sunday afternoon.
Monmouth (9-4, 4-0 CAA) is currently the top performer in the CAA, and only two seasons after joining the conference. The Hawks have already taken down some of their top contenders with a 2-1 win over then-No. 20 Delaware and 1-0 victory against Drexel – the team they had lost to in the conference semifinal last season. Offensive leader for Monmoth and the CAA Sofia Fouces tallied all three goals in those two wins. Fouces notched another in the Hawks’ recent 5-3 win over Northeastern, a game where freshman defender Anna Moors added a pair of her own. After what ended up being her first multi-goal – that included her first gamewinning goal – Moors was named the CAA Rookie of the Week.
VCU (11-3, 4-1) has been having success in their own conference, sans not being able to take down then-No. 13 Saint Joseph’s. The Rams were able to win their other four conference match-ups, which included a 1-0 win over then-No. 17 UMass. VCU showed their strength early on in the season when they took an extremely tight 2-1 OT loss to then-No. 5 Louisville. Strong on offense for the Rams, freshman Mora Marrero currently leads the A10 in goals (10) and points (24).
The Rams and Hawks have only met three times before, most recently in 2016 when Monmouth left with a 3-1 victory. VCU won the other two games in 2012 and 2009.
DII: NO. 5 BLOOMSBURG vs NO. 9 MANSFIELD | 4 PM ET | PSAC NETWORK
With just a few more games left to prove themselves in the PSAC, No. 5 Bloomsburg and No. 9 Mansfield will clash on Tuesday night in Bloomsburg, Pa.
After falling to Kutztown on October 4, Bloomsburg (12-3, 4-3 PSAC) has answered back with three PSAC wins, including a 1-0 victory over then-No. 1 East Stroudsburg. The Huskies’ most recent win was in an extremely tight contest against Millersville. With just one single shot on goal, Genna Bush put away the gamewinner in the 57th minute. It was a strong defensive showing from both teams, with Bloomsburg goalkeeper Jackie Nevel making four saves and junior defender Meg Barnard tallying a defensive save. Nevel, who currently ranks second in the PSAC in save percentage (.795), was chosen as the PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week.
Mansfield (9-5, 3-3 PSAC) had their own tight PSAC showdown on Wednesday, theirs against IUP. It was a goal in the second minute of play from graduate student Blaise Cugini – who played her undergraduate career at IUP – that eventually led to the 1-0 win for the Mounties. The defense held strong for the entire 60 minutes, successfully protecting the one goal lead and helping goalkeeper August Lewis to her seventh shutout of the season.
The last meeting between the two ended in a 2-1 win for the Huskies, who have a 21-4 all-time series advantage over the Mounties.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25
DIII: CABRINI vs MANHATTANVILLE | 4 PM ET | ATLANTIC EAST NETWORK
Following their Senior Day game against Gwynedd Mercy on Saturday, Cabrini will host the program’s final regular season home match on Robb Dixon Field.
After winning the title of Atlantic East Conference (AEC) champion last season, Cabrini (6-8, 1-3) was selected to finish second in the AEC this year. The Cavaliers started off conference play with a dominant 5-1 win over Neumann, but followed it up with two close losses to Immaculata and Marywood. In the 1-0 loss to the Mighty Macs, the stats were heavily in favor of Cabrini, who did not let in a goal until the final six seconds of the game. The Cavaliers were conference champions six times, most recently in 2021 and 2022, all under head coach Jackie Neary.
In her second year of coaching at Manhattanville (3-10, 0-4 AEC), SUNY Oswego graduate Katie Reynolds is looking to navigate the Valiants in their transition to the AEC. Manhattanville is on the hunt for their first conference win this weekend after dropping a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Neumann this Wednesday. After going down 1-0 in the 38th minute, graduate student Megan Keaveney scored the tying goal ten minutes later, sending the match to overtime. The Knights came away with victory after scoring just two minutes into the extra period.
After playing each other all the way back in 1996 and 1998, the two teams did not meet again until their next pair matches in 2002 and 2003. After another hiatus, the two met again in 2021 and 2022 when Manhattanville joined the AEC. Last season, Cabrini took a dominant 9-2 victory.
DII: NO. 8 MILLERSVILLE vs NO. 3 KUTZTOWN | 6 PM ET | VILLE SPORTS NETWORK
Photo by: Mark Palczewski
A top-ten PSAC match-up goes down on Wednesday at 6 p.m. when No. 8 Millersville hosts No. 3 Kutztown.
After their heartbreaking 3-2 loss to then-No. 2 Shippensburg, Kutztown (11-2, 5-2 PSAC) looked ahead and triumphed with two back-to-back PSAC wins. The first was a 2-0 shutout against Mansfield last weekend, followed by a 2-1 win over West Chester on Tuesday. Freshman Jessica Traynor was an integral part of the Golden Bears offense, tallying a goal in each game.
Millersville (9-5, 3-4 PSAC) is looking to bounce back after their recent 1-0 loss to Bloomsburg this past week. The Marauders led in shots and penalty corners, but could not outlast the Huskies offense, who managed to tally a goal in the final three minutes of regulation. The loss came after a much needed 1-0 win over West Chester, where sophomore Emma Ruley scored the lone goal.
Kutztown won the 2022 season match-up with Millersville in overtime, 1-0, after falling 5-1 in the 2021 season.
Images courtesy of: Olivia Frzop/Fairfield Athletics, Virginia Athletics, Jim Beaver/Sideline Photos/Drexel Athletics, Chris Lyons/ Maryland Athletics, Tufts Athletics, John Byrum Photography/Limestone Athletics, Steve McLaughlin Photography/Wesleyan Athletics, Jon Endow/Babson Athletics, Ed Mailliard/OWU Athletics, Joseph Cress/Northwestern Athletics, Troy Fenton Jr/Monmouth Athletics, Millersville Athletics, Linda Johnson/Cabrini Athletics, Mark Palczewski/Millersville Athletics
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