NEWARK, N.J. — NJIT Women's Soccer hits the road for the first of two New Jersey non-conference contests this week, beginning with a matchup at Saint Peter's in Jersey CIty.

LAST TIME OUT 
NJIT conceded a rare home shutout against former American East foe Hartford in a 3-0 loss on September 8.

NEWS AND NOTES TO KNOW
8, 5, 5, 3: The Highlanders have scored eight goals so far this year - five have come from headers, five have been assisted, and three have been headers assisted by Aleesha Deshmukh, including Sydney Watson's goal against Wagner on August 31.

17: Saylor registered her 17th career shutout against Drexel, extending her NJIT school record and placing her within the NCAA Top 30 for career shutouts (was tied for 27th in Division I prior to the Wagner game).

19: The goal differential between NJIT (19) and Saint Peter's (0) in their last four contests - all NJIT shutout victories - under head coach Ally Nick.

288: The number of saves Saylor has made in her career, placing her 12 shy of the 300 save mark. Only two other Highlanders - Sadie Mele (437) and Samantha Bersett (363) - have eclipsed the 300 save plateau in NJIT history.

9: The number of America East weekly awards NJIT Women's Soccer has won all-time after Saylor was named Defensive Player of the Week on August 29. She joined sophomore Ciara Adams (August 29, Offensive POTW) as award winners for 2022.

The draw with Drexel kept the program's overall unbeaten streak alive at nine games, dating back to last season's five-match run (3-0-2 to close the year). The nine-game stretch without a loss is the longest in program history.

605:32: The final length of NJIT's school record shutout streak that started with the final five games of 2021 and ended with St. John's first goal on August 21.

5: After Saylor's 14 saves against Drexel, she sits in the NJIT top-five for single game saves, behind Samantha Bersett (18 against Lipscomb on Oct. 24, 2015; 15 against Utah Valley on Oct. 5, 2012), Bruna Lotufo (15 vs IPFW on Aug. 31, 2006) and Ketsia Mesidor (15 vs Bridgeport on Sept. 17, 1997).

2: NJIT has scored multiple goals in two games this season after only doing so one time in 19 contests in 2021.

7: In that same vein, the Highlanders have had seven different goal scorers (Adams, Vito, Chamberlain, Ramos, Caminos, Watson, Caputo) in only seven games, which is close to 2021's total of ten different goal scorers in 19 contests.

4: The fourth tie of the year against Lafayette sets a new program record for most in a season, passing the three NJIT posted in 2005, 2012, 2016 and 2019.

44: The difference between the number of career games it took for Caminos (46) and Ramos (2) to net their first career goals against St. John's.

4: In the season opener, 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).

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.

2022 STATS LEADERS
Goals: Ciara Adams - 2
Assists: Aleesha Deshmukh - 3
Points: Adams - 4
Shots: Caroline Caputo/Kelsey Ramos - 9
Saves: Molly Saylor - 39
GAA: Saylor - 1.14

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Outside of the COVID-19 delayed 2020 season, NJIT and Saint Peter's have played every year of NJIT's Division I tenure (since 2006) and the Highlanders hold a commanding 11-2-1 record over the Peacocks, including a current 10-game winning streak. NJIT's school record for goals in a game came in a 7-0 win over Saint Peter's in Coach Nick's first season of 2016 and last year, the Highlanders nearly matched it with a 6-0 win on September 4. 

Saint Peter's enters Sunday with a 1-6 record after a 1-4 defeat against Monmouth - NJIT's opponent later in the week - on September 7. The Peacocks are led by Jazmin Brown (1 G, 4 shots) and Olivia Mackethan (562:38 mins, 2.72 GAA, 32 saves).

NEXT UP
NJIT will host Monmouth on Wednesday, September 14 at 7 p.m. in the Highlanders' last game before beginning America East play. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with an International feed available through AE.tv.