NEWARK, N.J. — NJIT Women's Soccer (4-3-5, 1-1-1 AE) will take a final break from America East play on Wednesday evening with a first-time matchup against the George Washington Revolutionaries.

LAST TIME OUT
NJIT rallied from an early first half deficit to pick up a crucial 2-1 America East victory against the UMBC Retrievers on September 28. The Highlanders found themselves down in the 23rd minute but equalized before halftime on a Bailey Chant corner kick and Maddie Taibl header. NJIT then took the lead for good in the 83rd minute on a Chant goal assisted by Gabby Zalot and Briana Andreoli.

NEWS AND NOTES TO KNOW

• 5: The UMBC match was the fifth time in her career - and second this season - that Chant has logged at least one goal and one assist in a match. She pulled off the feat last in the win over LIU on August 31.
• 42: After not scoring in her first four years (42 matches) at NJIT, Taibl has logged two goals and an assist in ten games played in 2023.
• 19: NJIT's goal distribution currently sits at 19 goals by 13 different players. The most diverse offensive season in Division I program history (since 2006) came last year when 14 different players scored the team's 22 goals across 19 games.
• 18: It has been 18 contests (regular season and playoffs) since NJIT lost back-to-back contests, dating back to last season.
• 7: Samantha Constantine matched her career high in saves (7) against UAlbany on September 17. The first time the junior reached that total was in her last matchup against an America East opponent prior to UAlbany - the America East quarterfinal at Maine on October 30, 2022.
• The 7-0 victory over Saint Peter's on August 20 matched the program's single-game record - set seven years ago in head coach Ally Nick's fourth-ever game leading the Highlanders on August 29, 2016 - and marked the most goals scored by NJIT since September 4, 2021, when the Highlanders defeated the same Saint Peter's team by a 6-0 margin at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
• NJIT is unbeaten in its last seven home season openers (5-0-2 record) since a 2-0 loss against Temple on August 23, 2013.
• 4: The UAlbany game is the fourth game this season where both NJIT and its opponent each took double digit shots and the match ended in a draw. The others: at UC Riverside (0-0; 11 shots for NJIT, 12 for UCR), La Salle (1-1; 13/15), and Wagner (1-1; 14/11).
• 50: NJIT's win over FDU was the 50th in head coach Ally Nick's career - all at NJIT. Since coming to Newark in 2016, Nick has won 6, 9, 11, 7, 2, 7, 5, and so far 3 games across eight seasons.
• 2018: The last time NJIT went at least five straight matches without a loss was in 2018, when the Highlanders played LIU Brooklyn to a draw in its second game of the season and proceeded to rattle off four wins in a row over Iona, Fairfield, UMass Lowell (pre-AE) and at Rider. The NJIT Division I record for longest unbeaten streak is six games, done two different ways in 2016 (4-0-2 record) and 2017 (6-0 record).
• 15: Merle Hueser was named America East Rookie of the Week on September 11 after playing all 180 minutes in NJIT's two draws against La Salle and Wagner. Hueser started all of NJIT's first eight contests (no other Highlander freshman has made a start yet), ranks second on the team in minutes played (723 minutes of a possible 810, behind only captain Emma Bitar's 779), and has contributed to NJIT's four shutouts and season-long five-match unbeaten streak. The honor, coupled with Maria Nogueira's Offensive POTW award on September 5 and Gabby Zalot's opening week Offensive POTW award, give the Highlanders 15 AE Weekly awards since joining the conference in July 2020 (5 Offensive, 5 Defensive, 5 Rookie). 
• 2012: NJIT's trip to California marked the first time the team played in the Western US since its final contests as members of the former Great West Conference (Oct. 5, 2012 at Utah Valley and Nov. 3, 2012 vs Howard in the GWC Tournament at UVU). The two game swing was part of the Highlanders' 18-match slate for 2023.
• 181:33: The number of minutes across the first four home games before Samantha Constantine conceded a goal on her watch this year - FDU's penalty score in the second minute (1:33) on September 3.
• 2021: The last NJIT player with two assists in a game before Zalot against Saint Peter's was Highlander alumna Siani Magruder in the 2021 Saint Peter's matchup. Zalot now has two games this year with a pair of assists (SPU, FDU) and Briana Andreoli joined her with two helpers against FDU as well.
• Aleesha Deshmukh's goal vs SPU was her first since scoring as a freshman against Saint Peter's in that 2021 contest.
• 6: This year's squad has matched the 2019 team as the last to go six straight home matches without a loss. The Highlanders have gone 3-0-3 at home so far this year; in 2019, the team went 4-0-2 over six matches. Their only loss at home that year was a 1-0 defeat against Liberty on Senior Day on October 27 - which was avenged less than a week later during NJIT's last playoff win in the ASUN Conference Quarterfinals.
• 5: With her goal against LIU, Bailey Chant reached double digit career scores with ten. She is now the fifth Highlander in the Division I era to record ten or more goals, joining Fiona Wright (15), Kori Washington (12), Carly Berdan (10) and Gechi Ukaegbu (10).
• That 2021 Saint Peter's game was also the last time five NJIT players scored in one game (Chant, Deshmukh, Briana Ramirez, and recent grads Christine Conaghy and Tara Walenczyk).
• The five total shots the NJIT defense allowed in the season opening 0-0 draw against Mount St. Mary's were the program's third-fewest allowed in a season opener since going Division I in 2006 (2 shots allowed at Saint Peter's on Aug. 17, 2012; 4 shots allowed against LIU last season). 
• 28: NJIT's record against Saint Peter's all-time improves to 13-2-1, including 12 wins in a row, six straight shutouts, and a +28 differential (28-0) across those six shutouts.
• 2022: Chant's PK goal was NJIT's first since October 27, 2022, when former Highlander Siani Magruder's game winner at Bryant capped off a two-goal comeback and helped NJIT clinch a place in last year's America East tournament.
• 357: Number of days between fifth year Madison Taibl's last game of 2022 (August 25) and the August 17 season opener she appeared in after working her way back from injury.
• 17: NJIT's +17 differential on total shots (23-6) vs Saint Peter's was the team's highest since the Highlanders offense went +24 (31-7) against Delaware State at home on October 7, 2022.
• 3: The 2022 Delaware State game was also the last time NJIT assisted on three goals in a game as a team.
• NJIT will look to reach its third consecutive America East tournament this year. The last time the Highlanders played in at least three straight league tournaments, NJIT competed in four consecutive Great West Conference tourneys from 2009-12. Under Coach Nick, NJIT has made back-to-back playoff appearances twice across two different leagues: 2018-19 in the ASUN and 2021-22 in the America East. The Highlanders were picked to finish sixth in this year's AE Preseason Poll, which would be the minimum to clinch the third berth at season's end.
• The Wagner game was the third time this year NJIT and its opponent each finished with double digit shot attempts, and all three matches ended in ties.
• 2-1-2: NJIT has posted a 2-1-2 record in its last five season openers: wins against LIU (4-0, 2022) and Drexel (3-1, 2020; played in Spring 2021), ties against Mount St. Mary's (0-0, 2023) and UMBC (0-0 in 2OT, 2019 - 1st game at new Lubetkin Field), and a lone defeat at St. John's (0-3, 2021).
• 8: 2023 will be the eighth season at the helm of the Highlanders program for head coach Ally Nick since taking over in 2016. Entering 2023, Nick has compiled an overall record (W-L-D) of 47-54-17 (19-28-6 conference - ASUN & America East) over seven seasons and 14-24-9 (7-12-4 AE) in three campaigns as a member of the America East conference (since 2020).
• 29: NJIT will field an active roster of 29 during the 2023 campaign: 21 returners (including 2022 AE All-Championship selection Ciara Adams, 2022 AE All-Rookie honoree Riley Jones, 2021 AE All-Rookie selection Caroline Caputo, and veteran captains Emma Bitar and Madison Taibl), seven freshmen and one grad transfer.
• 11: This year's roster is even more diverse than last year's in terms of hometowns. The active roster hails from 11 different locales - New Jersey (13 players), Virginia (4), Pennsylvania (3), New York (2), California (1), Arizona (1), North Carolina (1), Canada (1), New Zealand (1), Portugal (1), and Germany (1) - compared to seven in 2022.
• 81.8: The percentage of offense (18 of 22 goals) returning to the Highlander lineup from last year, including team leading scorers Bailey Chant (3 G, 1 A) and Briana Andreoli (3 G). Three-fourths of NJIT's ability to set up those scoring chances (8 of 12 assists) is back as well, paced by team leader Aleesha Deshmukh (3 A).
• 6: NJIT's school record for ties in a season from last year. The previous record was three, done in 2005, 2012, 2016 and 2019.
• 1: One new coach joined the Highlander staff since the end of last season (Jordan Nash came aboard in March after most recently working at Monmouth) and the first former Highlander to play under Coach Nick signed a professional contract (Angela Harris committed to play for Greek side Panathinaikos earlier this month).
• Merle Hueser was the only newcomer to crack the Starting XI in the first two games and has not looked back since. Hueser is the only freshman to see action in every game so far and has started them all.
• Mojisola Ayodele made her first career appearance in goal in her second season in the opener against Mount St. Mary's, replacing new starter Samantha Constantine as a second half sub and making her first career save.
• Sam Constantine earned her first-ever solo shutout against UC Riverside after combining on three group shutouts previously - one in 2022 and two this year.
• The FDU game was the first time in the Division I era that NJIT produced a pair of double assisted goals.
• NJIT's draw against La Salle marked the first time in four tries that the Highlanders have earned a positive result over the Explorers.

1. Binghamton (2-0-2 AE | 3-4-5 overall)
2. Maine (2-0-1 AE | 7-0-4 overall)
3. UNH (2-1-1 AE | 5-4-2 overall)
4. Bryant (1-1-2 AE | 5-3-3 overall)
5. UMass Lowell (1-1-1 AE | 1-4-5 overall)
6. NJIT (1-1-1 AE | 4-3-5 overall)
7. Vermont (1-2 AE | 7-4 overall)
8. UAlbany (0-2-2 AE | 3-6-2 overall)
9. UMBC (0-2-2 AE | 3-9-2 overall)

NEXT UP
NJIT will begin the home stretch of America East play and honor its seniors on Sunday, October 8 at 1 p.m. against Maine.