Highlanders All Access Link vs. Temple


NEWARK, NJ—The 2013-14 NJIT athletics calendar formally kicks off this weekend, with the women's soccer team hosting a pair of contests, starting with the season-opening contest Friday at 7 pm vs. Temple on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
After taking on Temple on Friday night, the Highlanders will have a quick turnaround, hosting Rhode Island at 1 pm, also on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
NJIT, which began Division I competition in women's soccer in 2006, enters 2013 looking to make strides after posting a deceptive 4-13-3 record in 2012. That mark included six overtime contests in which the Highlanders finished 1-2-3. They also had four losses by one goal in regulation, so it's not difficult to imagine a bit of improvement leading to a substantial positive swing in this year's team record.
 
Two of the 1-0 losses came at the hands of their opponents this weekend, as the Highlanders lost at Rhode Island on August 26 and again by 1-0 at Temple on August 31.
 
Temple, NJIT's first 2013 opponent on Friday night, went on to finish 5-12-3 in 2012. The Owls, long-time members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, played 2012 in that loop, but are now part of the newly-formed American Athletic Conference, the new group that came into being with the split of the old Big East Conference, in which the Catholic schools of the Big East formed their own conference and retained the well-known Big East name.
 
Rhode Island, which finished 11-8-1 in 2012 and will come to Newark for a Sunday afternoon tilt, remains as a long-time member of the Atlantic 10.
 
The NJIT-Temple game will be the first of the season for both teams, while URI will host in-state rival Providence on Friday night before coming to New Jersey for Sunday's contest.
 
There are substantial changes at the top in NJIT women's soccer, as Sergio Gonzalez, who led the program for the previous two years, has moved on to become an assistant coach at the University of Indiana. That resulted in his two assistants from the last two seasons moving over a chair.
 
Mandi Risden, who played four years of top level Division I soccer between Clemson and Auburn, was a Division I coach since 2000, first at Rutgers, next at Brown and at NJIT from 2008 until she was named head coach in April following Gonzalez' move to the Big Ten. Friday will mark her first official game as head coach.
 
With Risden, formerly the program's full-time assistant coach moving up to the top job, Erwin van Bennekom, the part-time assistant for two years, moves up into the full-time spot. New this year on the staff are Katrina Smedley and volunteer assistant Tim Verschuren.
 
Another noticeable change on the sidelines will be seen with a full, deep bench. The 2013 Highlanders have 27 players on the roster, perhaps the deepest group in the program's history and certainly the most in the last 10 years. Last year's roster listed 24 players, but that was misleading due to the number of season-ending injuries, an issue that has hampered the program in its Division I era. On a positive note, Coach Risden reports that the team will be at full strength heading into the 2013 opener.
 
Although NJIT women's soccer has made strides, 2013 will not be without its challenges. A year ago, the Highlanders held opponents to two, or fewer, goals in 14 different games, but finished just 3-8-3 in the low-scoring affairs. A huge reason—NJIT scored only 14 goals in its 20 games. Eleven of the 14 goals were scored by players no longer with the team, so finding new scoring and more of it will be a key to improving the record.
 
The 2013 squad includes 12 players who appeared in at least 14 games a season, including sophomore goalkeeper Samantha Bersett, who played all but 45 minutes as a freshman and posted a solid 1.60 goals against average. Five other returnees started at least 19 of the 2102 team's 20 games and they are joined by Kaelyn Gamel who started all 15 games she played in and Emmy Hattle, a starter in all eight of her games played.
 
Mandi Risden, who has been at NJIT for the building process that's produced this latest version of the Highlanders, is optimistic.
 
"We're all very excited to begin the 2013 season," said the coach. "We have the program in a place where we have players who are better prepared for the challenges and more organized on the field than we have been in the past. I think we're all looking forward to testing ourselves against Temple.
 
NJITHighlanders.com will host live coverage of the Temple game and all home games in 2013, with real-time statistics updated as the game progresses, along with live video.