Friday, August 26
Kean Alumni Stadium (Kean University) - Union, NJ
4:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
at
NJIT
QU Women's Soccer Hits the Road for First Time in 2016, Faces NJIT on Friday
8/25/2016 12:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Both Teams Enter Friday's Contest With 2-0 Record and +4 Goal Differential on the Season
Quinnipiac Bobcats (2-0-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) at
NJIT Highlanders (2-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Friday, August 26, 2016 • 4:00 PM
Kean Alumni Stadium • Union, N.J.
All-Time Series vs. NJIT (DI): 3-0-1
After storming through a pair of home win to kick off the 2016 season, the Quinnipiac women's soccer team hits the road for the first time in the new campaign as the Bobcats will face NJIT on Friday at 4 PM. An important note for Bobcats fans is the game will be played at Kean University in Union, New Jersey at Kean Alumni Stadium. Both teams head into the contest undefeated as the Bobcats and Highlands each sport an identical mark of 2-0.
ALL-TIME AGAINST NJIT (3-0-1)
SCOUTING REPORT: NJIT
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
Devan Malcolm earned the starting nod for the Bobcats against UMass Lowell and delivered in what was her first career appearance. The sophomore keeper notched five saves to not only pick up the win but also record a clean sheet in her collegiate debut. She became the first Quinnipiac goalkeeper to post a shutout in their first career appearance since Class of 2016 graduate Natalia Grodzki recorded a two-save shutout in her debut against NJIT back on Sept. 7, 2012.
IT ALL PANS OUT
A missed 2015 season for Sarah Pandolfi had the Bobcats dealing with the loss of one of the team's main strikers. Two years removed from being just one of two Bobcats to start all 17 games in 2014, Pandolfi blasted home her first goal as a Bobcat in a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell. A transfer from UMass, Pandolfi finished her freshman year as a Minutewoman with two goals and one assist before transferring to Quinnipiac prior to the start of 2014. In her 2014 season, Pandolfi led the team with 35 shots while adding two assists in her 17 games.
THREE'S COMPANY
Three different goal scorers filled the stat sheet for Quinnipiac as Nadya Gill, Sarah Pandolfi and Madison Borowiec picked up the goals for the Bobcats in a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell. Gill recorded her second goal of 2016 as well as the 10th of her career and sixth game-winning goal in 19 career appearances. After missing the entire 2015 campaign due to injury, Pandolfi blasted home her first career goal as a Bobcat in the win while Borowiec registered her second career goal and is now tied for second on the team in points with three.
LITTLE AL DOING BIG THINGS
Sophomore forward Al Pelletier had herself a dominant start to the 2016 campaign as she notched one goal and one assist, including the game-winning tally in the 82nd minute that sent the Bobcats past Toledo, 2-1, at home in the season opener. Pelletier either scored or assisted on both of the two Bobcat goals on the day while she also picked up her first career game-winning tally late in the second half. Just one year removed from recording one goal in 10 games played ruing her rookie season, Pelletier eclipsed that season total in one game in 2016.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
After just one appearance, freshman keeper Olivia Myszewski has already made a little history as her seven saves goes down as the most by a Bobcat goalkeeper in their first career appearance in the program's Div. I era (since 1998). Myszewski's seven saves are the most since Elizabeth Cook notched six in her first career appearance. Myszewski also became the first Bobcat keeper to pick up the victory in a victory in their first career start since Cook helped lead Quinnipiac to a double overtime 1-0 victory back on Oct. 4, 2009.
A LOOK AT THE SQUAD
Just one year removed from the largest freshman class (13) in head coach Dave Clarke's 18-year tenure at Quinnipiac, 11 return and are joined by eight freshmen in 2016 as the Bobcats will again be one of the youngest teams in the nation for the upcoming season. Luckily for coach Clarke, the 19-member underclassmen group did gain some valuable experience last season as Quinnipiac returns 10-of-13 total players who saw time in at least 12 games in 2015. Among the large sophomore group, nine of the 11 returners appeared in at least nine games in 2015 and an impressive total of seven saw time in at least 14 games last season.
GUESS WHOSE BACK…BACK AGAIN
One huge key for the Bobcats in 2016 is the return of every member of the defensive core that gelled throughout the course of the 2015 season. The very inexperienced back line core that came together in 2015, consisting of then-junior Joanna Proctor along with then-freshmen Sarahkate Norton, Jess Cascio, Caroline DeBonis and Katrina Friedman, return completely intact for the 2016 season. Both of the Bobcat centerbacks in Norton and Cascio return having played in all 17 games in 2015 while ranking first and second on the team among field players in minutes played with 1495 and 1478, respectively.
NEW NETMINDER
With the loss of three-year starter Natalia Grodzki to graduation, the Bobcats will be looking for a new goalkeeper in 2016. Rising sophomore Devan Malcolm was a backup goalkeeper in 2015 but didn't see any playing time during the season, making her time as the Bobcats' primary keeper in the spring that much more important as she gained some valuable experience. Joining the mix in 2016 are freshmen Charlotte Edmunds and Olivia Myszewski. Edmunds enters with over 20 caps playing for the Wales Junior National Teams while spending the 2015-16 season with West Bromwich Albion. Myszewski dominated the state of Wisconsin, earning a highly-acclaimed 2016 NSCAA High School All-American honor while being named the 2016 WSCA Player of the Year following a 2016 campaign that featured 13 shutouts and 0.74 GAA while leading her team to the WIAA Division I State Championship.
LEADING THE WAY
Another key for the Bobcats in 2016 is the return of the top three scorers from 2015 as Nadya Gill, Jess Fontaine and Jess Gargan each put together double digit points last season. Gill hopes to repeat her success as a freshman when she led the team with 19 points (eight goals, three assists) on her way to earning the MAAC Rookie of the Year honor. Fontaine broke out in 2015 with a single-season career high 17 points (five goals, seven assists) as she either scored or assisted on a team-leading 41.4 percent of the Bobcats' goals last season. Gargan meanwhile finished third on the team with 10 points (four goals, two assists) while she was a driving force in the attack half, ranking second on the team in 2015 with 34 shots.
PUSHING FORWARD
Offense certainly was the strength of the team in 2015 as the Bobcats finished the season with 29 goals and 32 assists for an average of 1.71 goals and 1.88 assists per game which both ranked in the upper half of the MAAC last season. On a per-game basis, the Bobcats averaged the second-most assists per game of any team in the conference, finishing just behind Monmouth who posted 1.89 assists per game in 2015. The production on the offensive end signified a drastic shift from a 2014 season that saw Quinnipiac score just 11 goals in 17 games. The 29-goal total for the season stands as the most in a single-season for the program since 2001 (13 years ago) and the fifth-most ever for the Bobcats in the program's NCAA Div. I era.
SHOOT TO GILL
A dynamic attacking forward as a freshman, the 2015 MAAC Rookie of the Year Nadya Gill returns for her sophomore season with high expectations. Finishing the year with All-MAAC Second Team honors, the two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week started all 17 games in 2015 and ranked first on the team in points (19), goals (eight), game-winning goals (five), shots (53) and shots-on-goal (30). She ranked sixth in the MAAC in points and points per game (1.12) while she also sat tied for fifth in goals, fifth in goals per game (0.47) and second in game-winning tallies. Gill joined Jillian Strassner (2009), Kirsten van de Ven (2004) and Elisa Goncalves (1999) as the fourth player in program history to be named Rookie of the Year in conference.
FONTAINE OF YOUTH
An established threat in the midfield, Jess Fontaine returns for her senior campaign in 2016 following a highly productive 2015 season. Starting all 17 games, she logged 1400 minutes of playing time, the most for any non-defensive player on the team while she broke out with a career high 17 points. She led the team with seven assists and ranked second on the Bobcats with five goals. Fontaine also finished tied for seventh in the MAAC in points and points per game (1.00) while ranking second in the conference in assists and assists per game (0.41). She also sat high nationally, tied for 49th in the nation with her assists per game total and tied for 71st with her seven assists. She comes into her senior year as the team's active career leading scorer with 11 goals and 11 assists (33 points) in 49 games played.
CAREER YEAR FOR CARUSO
A terror for opponents off the bench all season, Kelly Caruso put together a tremendous junior campaign in 2015 that featured a career high eight points (two goals, four assists) in 17 games played (seven starts). Caruso tallied her eight points while playing just 934 minutes as she finished the season as the only player on the team to log less than 1,000 minutes while appearing in all 17 games. Out of all players on the team, Caruso enters her senior year with the most career games played (50) as she has tallied 17 points (four goals, nine assists) in her first three seasons.
HONORS ALL AROUND
Despite just missing out on the MAAC Tournament last season, Quinnipiac was still well-represented in the All-MAAC voting for 2015. Nadya Gill received three honors as the MAAC Rookie of the Year also earned a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team as well as the All-MAAC Rookie Team. Joining Gill on the All-MAAC Rookie Team was defender Sarahkate Norton and midfielder Jess Gargan as the Bobcats tied for the league-lead with three All-Rookie selections. Most recently, Gill earned a spot on the 2016 All-MAAC Preseason Team as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
NJIT Highlanders (2-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Friday, August 26, 2016 • 4:00 PM
Kean Alumni Stadium • Union, N.J.
All-Time Series vs. NJIT (DI): 3-0-1
After storming through a pair of home win to kick off the 2016 season, the Quinnipiac women's soccer team hits the road for the first time in the new campaign as the Bobcats will face NJIT on Friday at 4 PM. An important note for Bobcats fans is the game will be played at Kean University in Union, New Jersey at Kean Alumni Stadium. Both teams head into the contest undefeated as the Bobcats and Highlands each sport an identical mark of 2-0.
ALL-TIME AGAINST NJIT (3-0-1)
- Quinnipiac has dominated the all-time series as these two foes have met four times, the most-recent of which coming in 2012, with the Bobcats owning a mark of 3-0-1 in the meetings
- A one-sided series, the Bobcats have outscored NJIT 11-0 in those four meetings including a 6-0 victory in Hamden back in 2008
- Even with the all-time success, the most-recent outing ended in a scoreless draw back in 2012 as the shots finished slightly in the Bobcats favor (10-7) while Natalia Grodzki posted a two-save shutout
- Furtuna Velaj made history in the 2008 meeting as she broke through for a single-game program record five goals in the 6-0 victory
SCOUTING REPORT: NJIT
- NJIT is making waves in 2016 as the Highlanders are starting a season 2-0 for the first time in program history
- Coming off a disappointing 2-14 season, NJIT struggled in their first season as a conference member of the Atlantic Sun
- Still new to the NCAA Div. I ranks, the Highlanders elevated into the top tier back in 2006
- Currently constructing the multipurpose NJIT Wellness and Events Center, the Highlanders are forced to play all home games away from campus
- The new season is off to a tremendous start as NJIT opened with a 3-0 win over Wagner and followed that up with a 2-1 victory over Hartford
- NJIT comes in sporting the same record and goal differential (+4) as the Bobcats through two games in 2016
- Neema Liverpool leads the team in goals with two while three others (Nicole Baldassini, Fiorella Doglio and Lizzy Wolfe) have all scored once
- Arianna Gerber comes in with the team-lead at two assists and leads the team in shots (eight) and shots-on-goal (five)
- Karen David has started both games this season in the cage and has only allowed one goal in 180 minutes
- David sports a 0.50 GAA, .833 save percentage and has one shutout to her name through two contests
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
Devan Malcolm earned the starting nod for the Bobcats against UMass Lowell and delivered in what was her first career appearance. The sophomore keeper notched five saves to not only pick up the win but also record a clean sheet in her collegiate debut. She became the first Quinnipiac goalkeeper to post a shutout in their first career appearance since Class of 2016 graduate Natalia Grodzki recorded a two-save shutout in her debut against NJIT back on Sept. 7, 2012.
IT ALL PANS OUT
A missed 2015 season for Sarah Pandolfi had the Bobcats dealing with the loss of one of the team's main strikers. Two years removed from being just one of two Bobcats to start all 17 games in 2014, Pandolfi blasted home her first goal as a Bobcat in a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell. A transfer from UMass, Pandolfi finished her freshman year as a Minutewoman with two goals and one assist before transferring to Quinnipiac prior to the start of 2014. In her 2014 season, Pandolfi led the team with 35 shots while adding two assists in her 17 games.
THREE'S COMPANY
Three different goal scorers filled the stat sheet for Quinnipiac as Nadya Gill, Sarah Pandolfi and Madison Borowiec picked up the goals for the Bobcats in a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell. Gill recorded her second goal of 2016 as well as the 10th of her career and sixth game-winning goal in 19 career appearances. After missing the entire 2015 campaign due to injury, Pandolfi blasted home her first career goal as a Bobcat in the win while Borowiec registered her second career goal and is now tied for second on the team in points with three.
LITTLE AL DOING BIG THINGS
Sophomore forward Al Pelletier had herself a dominant start to the 2016 campaign as she notched one goal and one assist, including the game-winning tally in the 82nd minute that sent the Bobcats past Toledo, 2-1, at home in the season opener. Pelletier either scored or assisted on both of the two Bobcat goals on the day while she also picked up her first career game-winning tally late in the second half. Just one year removed from recording one goal in 10 games played ruing her rookie season, Pelletier eclipsed that season total in one game in 2016.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
After just one appearance, freshman keeper Olivia Myszewski has already made a little history as her seven saves goes down as the most by a Bobcat goalkeeper in their first career appearance in the program's Div. I era (since 1998). Myszewski's seven saves are the most since Elizabeth Cook notched six in her first career appearance. Myszewski also became the first Bobcat keeper to pick up the victory in a victory in their first career start since Cook helped lead Quinnipiac to a double overtime 1-0 victory back on Oct. 4, 2009.
A LOOK AT THE SQUAD
Just one year removed from the largest freshman class (13) in head coach Dave Clarke's 18-year tenure at Quinnipiac, 11 return and are joined by eight freshmen in 2016 as the Bobcats will again be one of the youngest teams in the nation for the upcoming season. Luckily for coach Clarke, the 19-member underclassmen group did gain some valuable experience last season as Quinnipiac returns 10-of-13 total players who saw time in at least 12 games in 2015. Among the large sophomore group, nine of the 11 returners appeared in at least nine games in 2015 and an impressive total of seven saw time in at least 14 games last season.
GUESS WHOSE BACK…BACK AGAIN
One huge key for the Bobcats in 2016 is the return of every member of the defensive core that gelled throughout the course of the 2015 season. The very inexperienced back line core that came together in 2015, consisting of then-junior Joanna Proctor along with then-freshmen Sarahkate Norton, Jess Cascio, Caroline DeBonis and Katrina Friedman, return completely intact for the 2016 season. Both of the Bobcat centerbacks in Norton and Cascio return having played in all 17 games in 2015 while ranking first and second on the team among field players in minutes played with 1495 and 1478, respectively.
NEW NETMINDER
With the loss of three-year starter Natalia Grodzki to graduation, the Bobcats will be looking for a new goalkeeper in 2016. Rising sophomore Devan Malcolm was a backup goalkeeper in 2015 but didn't see any playing time during the season, making her time as the Bobcats' primary keeper in the spring that much more important as she gained some valuable experience. Joining the mix in 2016 are freshmen Charlotte Edmunds and Olivia Myszewski. Edmunds enters with over 20 caps playing for the Wales Junior National Teams while spending the 2015-16 season with West Bromwich Albion. Myszewski dominated the state of Wisconsin, earning a highly-acclaimed 2016 NSCAA High School All-American honor while being named the 2016 WSCA Player of the Year following a 2016 campaign that featured 13 shutouts and 0.74 GAA while leading her team to the WIAA Division I State Championship.
LEADING THE WAY
Another key for the Bobcats in 2016 is the return of the top three scorers from 2015 as Nadya Gill, Jess Fontaine and Jess Gargan each put together double digit points last season. Gill hopes to repeat her success as a freshman when she led the team with 19 points (eight goals, three assists) on her way to earning the MAAC Rookie of the Year honor. Fontaine broke out in 2015 with a single-season career high 17 points (five goals, seven assists) as she either scored or assisted on a team-leading 41.4 percent of the Bobcats' goals last season. Gargan meanwhile finished third on the team with 10 points (four goals, two assists) while she was a driving force in the attack half, ranking second on the team in 2015 with 34 shots.
PUSHING FORWARD
Offense certainly was the strength of the team in 2015 as the Bobcats finished the season with 29 goals and 32 assists for an average of 1.71 goals and 1.88 assists per game which both ranked in the upper half of the MAAC last season. On a per-game basis, the Bobcats averaged the second-most assists per game of any team in the conference, finishing just behind Monmouth who posted 1.89 assists per game in 2015. The production on the offensive end signified a drastic shift from a 2014 season that saw Quinnipiac score just 11 goals in 17 games. The 29-goal total for the season stands as the most in a single-season for the program since 2001 (13 years ago) and the fifth-most ever for the Bobcats in the program's NCAA Div. I era.
SHOOT TO GILL
A dynamic attacking forward as a freshman, the 2015 MAAC Rookie of the Year Nadya Gill returns for her sophomore season with high expectations. Finishing the year with All-MAAC Second Team honors, the two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week started all 17 games in 2015 and ranked first on the team in points (19), goals (eight), game-winning goals (five), shots (53) and shots-on-goal (30). She ranked sixth in the MAAC in points and points per game (1.12) while she also sat tied for fifth in goals, fifth in goals per game (0.47) and second in game-winning tallies. Gill joined Jillian Strassner (2009), Kirsten van de Ven (2004) and Elisa Goncalves (1999) as the fourth player in program history to be named Rookie of the Year in conference.
FONTAINE OF YOUTH
An established threat in the midfield, Jess Fontaine returns for her senior campaign in 2016 following a highly productive 2015 season. Starting all 17 games, she logged 1400 minutes of playing time, the most for any non-defensive player on the team while she broke out with a career high 17 points. She led the team with seven assists and ranked second on the Bobcats with five goals. Fontaine also finished tied for seventh in the MAAC in points and points per game (1.00) while ranking second in the conference in assists and assists per game (0.41). She also sat high nationally, tied for 49th in the nation with her assists per game total and tied for 71st with her seven assists. She comes into her senior year as the team's active career leading scorer with 11 goals and 11 assists (33 points) in 49 games played.
CAREER YEAR FOR CARUSO
A terror for opponents off the bench all season, Kelly Caruso put together a tremendous junior campaign in 2015 that featured a career high eight points (two goals, four assists) in 17 games played (seven starts). Caruso tallied her eight points while playing just 934 minutes as she finished the season as the only player on the team to log less than 1,000 minutes while appearing in all 17 games. Out of all players on the team, Caruso enters her senior year with the most career games played (50) as she has tallied 17 points (four goals, nine assists) in her first three seasons.
HONORS ALL AROUND
Despite just missing out on the MAAC Tournament last season, Quinnipiac was still well-represented in the All-MAAC voting for 2015. Nadya Gill received three honors as the MAAC Rookie of the Year also earned a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team as well as the All-MAAC Rookie Team. Joining Gill on the All-MAAC Rookie Team was defender Sarahkate Norton and midfielder Jess Gargan as the Bobcats tied for the league-lead with three All-Rookie selections. Most recently, Gill earned a spot on the 2016 All-MAAC Preseason Team as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
Players Mentioned
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