PISCATAWAY, NJ – Rutgers women’s soccer has been ranked No. 6 in the nation entering the 2022 season in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s Preseason Poll, released on Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights have now been ranked or received votes in the national preseason poll in 11 of the last 13 seasons.
The Scarlet Knights were ranked No. 25 one year ago in the 2021 preseason poll before winning a Big Ten Championship and making a run to the College Cup, ending the season with their highest ranking in program history at No. 3. Rutgers is the top ranked Big Ten program in the 2022 preseason poll, followed by No. 9 Michigan and no. 14 Penn State. Purdue and Wisconsin are also receiving votes.
Rutgers returns nine starters and 17 letterwinners from the 2021 College Cup squad, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Region First Team performer Riley Tiernan and All-Region goalkeeper Meagan McClelland. Junior midfielder Becci Fluchel (All-Big Ten Second Team), sophomore back Cassidy Banks (Big Ten All-Freshman Team) and sophomore midfielder Kylie Daigle (Big Ten All-Freshman Team) also returned with conference honors from last fall.
The Scarlet Knights established a historic and record-breaking season in 2021, capturing the first Big Ten Conference title for the program and for Rutgers while cruising to a 10-0 undefeated record in conference play. Led by a program-high nine All-Big Ten selections, the team advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the third time since joining the league. In his 10th straight NCAA Tournament and first as a No. 1 seed, the team advanced to the College Cup for the second time and first time since 2015. Overall, a plethora of new program records were set by the squad, including total wins, goals, assists, points, winning streak, and more.
The 2022 campaign begins with a three-game road trip at New Mexico (Aug. 18), UNLV (Aug. 21), and Providence (Aug. 25) before the Yurcak Field debut in Piscataway on Aug. 28 against Buffalo at 1 p.m
NATIONAL – PRE-SEASON POLL – AUGUST 2, 2022
| Rank | School | Prev | 1st Votes | Total Points | WLT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State University | 1 | 5 | 192 | 22-1-2 |
| 2 | Duke University | 5 | 2 | 181 | 15-4-1 |
| 3 | Brigham Young University | 2 | 0 | 178 | 16-5-2 |
| 4 | University Of Virginia | 8 | 1 | 160 | 18-3-2 |
| 5 | Santa Clara University | 4 | 0 | 154 | 15-5-3 |
| 6 | Rutgers University | 3 | 0 | 151 | 18-4-2 |
| 7 | TCU | 9 | 0 | 142 | 19-2-3 |
| 8 | University Of Arkansas | 6 | 0 | 137 | 19-4-1 |
| 9 | University Of Michigan | 7 | 0 | 132 | 18-4-3 |
| 10 | University Of North Carolina | 14 | 0 | 128 | 12-3-3 |
| 11 | University of Tennessee | 11 | 0 | 124 | 20-3-0 |
| 12 | University Of South Carolina | 10 | 0 | 115 | 14-7-1 |
| 13 | UCLA | 15 | 0 | 112 | 16-1-3 |
| 14 | Penn State University | 23 | 0 | 102 | 12-8-1 |
| 15 | University Of Southern California | 12 | 0 | 89 | 14-3-3 |
| 16 | University of Notre Dame | 16 | 0 | 81 | 14-6-2 |
| 17 | Pepperdine University | 13 | 0 | 80 | 17-4-1 |
| 18 | University of Mississippi | 18 | 0 | 58 | 12-6-3 |
| 19 | Georgetown University | 22 | 0 | 47 | 14-2-6 |
| 20 | Washington State University | 17 | 0 | 41 | 14-3-4 |
| 21 | Stanford University | RV | 0 | 38 | 13-6-1 |
| 22 | University Of Memphis | 20 | 0 | 35 | 14-5-2 |
| 23 | Southern Methodist University | 21 | 0 | 27 | 12-5-2 |
| 24 | Xavier University | 19 | 0 | 26 | 16-3-1 |
| 25 | Clemson University | RV | 0 | 16 | 12-7-1 |
Records shown are final 2021 records.
Also receiving votes: Wake Forest University (14), University of Texas (11), Auburn University (9), Samford University (8), Purdue University (4), Brown University (3), Harvard University (2), University of Wisconsin (2), Princeton University (1)
Stay up to date on the latest news and schedule updates by following Rutgers women’s soccer Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.
-RU-