Mount St. Mary's MSM (0-0-1, 0-0-0)

NJIT NJIT (0-0-1, 0-0-0)

Mount St. Mary's MSM

(0-0-1, 0-0-0)

Final

Aug. 17, 2023

NJIT NJIT

(0-0-1, 0-0-0)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Mount St. Mary's MSM	0	0	0
NJIT NJIT	0	0	0

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | 8/17/2023 11:12:00 PM

Women's Soccer and Mount St. Mary's Play To Season Opening Draw

Next Game:

Saint Peter's

8/20/2023 | 1:00 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Aug. 20 (Sun) / 1:00 PM

Saint Peter's

History

Recap
Roster

NEWARK, N.J. — The opening matchup of the 2023 season for the NJIT women's soccer team ended in a 0-0 draw Thursday evening at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.

The Highlanders (0-0-1) showed flashes of offensive strength throughout the contest en route to a 16-5 total shots advantage and 6-1 shots on goal edge over Mount St. Mary's (0-0-1). Despite a near even split in possession between the two teams (52-48 split in favor of MSM), the Highlanders displayed a willingness to attack that produced five more shots in the first half (6-1) and six more in the second (10-4) than their opponents.

Riley Jones led all players with three total shots, Bailey Chant, Briana Andreoli, Kelsey Ramos and Taylor Pape registered two apiece, and Caroline Caputo, Madison Taibl, Merle Hueser Mikayla Balio, and Briana Ramirez each had one. Each of Chant's, Andreoli's, and Caputo's chances were on goal, while one of Pape's two was on target.

While the offense worked to ask questions of the Mount St. Mary's defense all match long, NJIT's own defensive unit answered many of their own in the midst of a team-effort shutout. The five total shots that the new-look, yet still heavily veteran, NJIT backline allowed were the team'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).

Returners Emma Bitar and Pape combined with freshman Hueser, a healthy Taibl and goalkeepers Samantha Constantine and Mojisola Ayodele to produce NJIT's third season-opening shutout in the last five seasons. Constantine and Ayodele each played a half, with Constantine starting and contributing to her second career combined shutout and Ayodele making her collegiate debut and first-ever save in her second season.

OTHER NOTES

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).
The Highlanders have not lost a home season opener since 2013 (5-0-2 in seven chances since a 2-0 loss vs Temple on August 23, 2013).
Taibl was playing in her first game in nearly a year, after having her 2022 campaign abruptly ended by injury at Seton Hall last August 25.
Hueser was the only newcomer to crack the opening Starting XI. Fellow freshman Taty Schivel and grad transfer MIkaela O'Fallon also made their NJIT debuts Thursday as reserves.
NJIT and Mount St. Mary's were playing each other for the fourth time ever and first time for the first time since 2010 (the last of three straight meetings). After losing its first-ever meeting in 2009, the Highlanders have produced draws in each of the last three contests.