Box score

JERSEY CITY, NJ—The new-look NJIT women's soccer team, with seven freshman starters, got goals from three different players in a 3-0 win at Saint Peter's in the season-opening game for both sides on Friday afternoon.
 
The Highlanders, who dominated the stats, got two first-half goals, the first from rookie Erin Williams-Weir in the 20th minute, and the second from veteran Gechi Ukaegbu less than five minutes later. Ukaegbu, a senior, was one of two Highlanders to score two goals in 2011. Freshman Marissa Borschke notched the only goal of the second half, finding the mark with just under eight minutes remaining.
 
The first goal, a 20-yarder from Williams-Weir, was assisted by her classmate Alex Adam. Junior Amanda Redden assisted on the Ukaegbu tally, a shot from in front, and freshman Madeline Griep helped on Borschke's goal, which was scored from 18 yards away.
 
Williams-Weir, Borschke, and Griep all hail from Burlington, Ontario, and were teammates with the Burlington Soccer Club Burlington Heat, one of the top club programs north of the border.
 
Another NJIT freshman, goalkeeper Samantha Bersett, recorded the shutout in her first college game, making two stops for the clean sheet. Her Saint Peter's counterpart, senior Caitlin Hoffer, was much busier, making eight saves in addition to the three goals allowed.
 
The visiting Highlanders enjoyed an 18-2 margin in total shots, including a 11-2 in shots on goal. They also had a 4-1 lead in corner kicks. NJIT's dominance was balanced between the halves, with a 9-1 shot advantage in each 45-minute segment.
 
The August 17 opener was the earliest ever on the calendar for NJIT women's soccer, as the teams took advantage of the NCAA's new early start date. The 3-0 result also marked the first time the Highlanders have won their opening game since they began Division I competition in 2006. Previously, their earliest win on the schedule came in their second game (2-1 vs. Saint Peter's on August 29, 2010; they also beat Drexel 2-1 in the third game of 2009). NJIT's first 2011 win did not come until the ninth game (2-1 over Saint Peter's on September 22).
 
The three goals on Friday were also the most scored by the Highlanders since October 8, 2010, when they edged Great West Conference foe Delaware State, 4-3.
 
Having dispatched Saint Peter's of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in Friday's opener, NJIT will visit New Jersey's other MAAC program, Rider, on Sunday at 5 pm. Rider topped the Highlanders, 2-0, on September 2, 2011 in Newark. Rider was a 5-2 winner at home when the teams played in Lawrenceville, NJ, near Trenton, in 2010.
 
Sunday's game is the 2012 opener for Rider, which returns 19 players, including nine starters from a 2011 squad that finished 9-6-4.