Game 2	vs St. John's (1-0-0)
Date | Time	Sunday, August 21 | 6:00 pm
Location | Arena	Newark, NJ | Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium
All-Time Series	St. John's leads 1-0
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
Live Video	AmericaEast.TV

NEWARK, N.J. — The NJIT women's soccer team will look to secure back-to-back wins to open the 2022 season on Sunday when the Highlanders take on St. John's in Newark.

LAST TIME OUT 
The Highlanders won their 2022 season opener at home Thursday evening, taking down LIU in emphatic fashion, 4-0. The Highlanders (1-0) were led by sophomore Ciara Adams, who secured her first career brace with NJIT's first two goals of the contest (6', 54'). Adams' second and third career goals make her the first Highlander to score multiple goals in a game since teammate Bailey Chant netted a pair in NJIT's 6-0 rout of Saint Peter's last season (Sept. 4).
Daniella Vito and Lauren Chamberlain provided the Highlanders' other two scores less than two minutes apart, with Vito recording her first career goal in the 83rd minute and Lauren Chamberlain's recording her seventh all-time in the 85th minute.

THE STARTING XI - NEWS AND NOTES TO KNOW
6: Thursday's win extended NJIT's current school record shutout streak to six games and over 585 minutes (585:19), dating back to last season's five-match unbeaten run (3-0-2) to close the campaign.

2016: The season-opening home shutout victory was the first for NJIT since a 3-0 win over Wagner on Aug. 19, 2016. That 2016 season opening was also head coach Ally Nick's first-ever win at NJIT.

4: NJIT held LIU's offensive attack in check, only allowing the Sharks to register four total shots. The last time the Highlander defense conceded four shots or fewer in a victory was against Wagner on Sept. 2, 2021 (1-0 win, four shots allowed).

15: Molly Saylor also added to her career shutout tally with her 15th all-time clean sheet against the Sharks. The redshirt senior played all 90 minutes and only needed to make one save. The last time Saylor faced so little resistance was in the Saint Peter's match last year (also one save).

7: Head coach Ally Nick is in her seventh season as head coach of the Highlanders. Nick compiled a 42-46-11 (17-24-4 conference) record in six seasons prior to 2022, including three conference tournament appearances in six years (2018-19 ASUN, 2021 AE)

30: NJIT is running with a 30-woman roster consisting of: 21 returners from last season's America East quarterfinal team, eight freshmen and transfer Lily Bray.

3: Three returners from 2021 were honored by the America East last season: Redshirt senior Molly Saylor (Second Team All-AE, AE All-Academic), Fifth Year Siani Magruder (Second Team All-AE, AE All-Championship Team), and sophomore Caroline Caputo (AE All-Rookie Team)

This will also be NJIT's third season in the America East after the school joined the league in July 2020. However, it will be the Highlanders' first AE campaign after a proper offseason (2020 was played in Spring 2021 due to COVID and 2021 was played the following fall). 

7: This year's roster hails from seven different places (five states, two countries): New Jersey (16 players), Pennsylvania (5), Virginia (4), New York (2), North Carolina, New Zealand, and Portugal.

2: A pair of successful local coaches joined Coach Nick's staff for the 2022 campaign. Ariana Ruela (former head coach at Rutgers-Newark) and Graeham Gotrell (former Montclair State women's and men's soccer assistant coach) were hired this summer after the departures of longtime assistants Mary Hearin (Delaware) and Chris Duggan (Princeton)

60: Sixty percent of NJIT's offense from 2021 IS back on the pitch this season. Bailey Chant is the Highlanders' leading returning scorer (3 G, 2 A) while six other players registered a goal last season (Angela Harris, Ciara Adams, Aleesha Deshmukh, Briana Ramirez, Emma Bitar, Taylor Pape).

5: After earning the No. 3 seed and hosting the first-ever America East Tournament home game in NJIT history, the Highlanders were voted to finish tied for this year's Preseason Poll by the league's head coaches.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
NJIT and St. John's will be meeting for only the second time in the programs' histories, after the Johnnies defeated the Highlanders, 3-0, on Aug. 19, 2021. St. John's also won their opener, defeating Saint Joseph's, 2-1, on Thursday night. 

St. John's went 13-7-3 last year and reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Duke.

NEXT UP
NJIT will begin its season-long three-match road trip on Thursday, August 25 against county rival Seton Hall. Kickoff in South Orange is scheduled for 4 p.m.