NCAA BRACKET | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | GAME NOTES FDU | GAME NOTES RUTGERSHACKENSACK, N.J. - The Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team will only have to travel down to exit 9 off the New Jersey Turnpike to make their NCAA Tournament debuts. The No. 9 ranked and No. 2 seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights will host the Knights at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Piscataway.
Fairleigh Dickinson (16-5) won the program's first NEC Tournament Title on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Robert Morris. Rachel Hoesktra provided the lone goal off a cross from
Jessi Reinhardt (Friedberg, Germany/Burggymansium) in the 73rd minute. The Knights' current 12-game winning streak is the longest in the nation currently.
Rutgers (16-3-2) has never lost to Fairleigh Dickinson. The Scarlet Knights are a perfect 4-0 all-time and have never conceded a goal in those four games. The last meeting between the two sides came in 2007 with Rutgers earning a 5-0 win.
The Scarlet Knights lost to No. 9 Penn State in the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday 2-0. The loss snapped a 10 game unbeaten streak. Defensively, Rutgers has been one of the best teams in the nation. They have allowed just eight goals all season for a 0.373 goals against average per game. Goalkeeper, Casey Murphy has recorded 15 shutouts this season. Offensively, Colby Ciarrocca leads the Scarlet Knights with 19 points (8g, 3a) this season. Cassie Inacio is second on the team with 10 points (4g, 2a).
NCAA Tournament Tickets
Rutgers hosts its sixth NCAA Tournament match in program history and second in two years Friday when Farleigh Dickinson comes to town for a first-round matchup. Tickets will be sold at the gates the day of the match. Prices are listed below.
Adults - $7
Students/Senior Citizens - $5
Children - $1
The Knights sport one of the higher powered offenses in the country. Fairleigh Dickinson is tied for 11th in goals per game with 2.38 (50 goals in 21 games) this season. The offense is led by
Rachel Hoekstra (Bowmanville, Ontario/Clarington Central) and
Carly Tice (Highland Falls, N.Y./James I. O'Neill). Hoekstra has tallied 34 points (16g, 2a) this season and Tice has 30 points (11g, 8a). Hoekstra is t-11th in the country with those 16 goals.
Hoekstra was named NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Amanda Goulet (Quebec City, Quebec/Shattuck-St. Mary's ),
Katey Arathoon (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary's) and
Jessi Reinhardt (Friedberg, Germany/Burggymansium) joined Hoekstra on the All-Tournament Team from Fairleigh Dickinson.
Carly Tice (Highland Falls, N.Y./James I. O'Neill) is one assist from tying the program's record of assists in a season at 9, which is held by Kristen Habenicht in 2005.
Behind Hoekstra and Tice, FDU has three other players with at least 10 points. They are freshmen Reinhardt (19) and
Elma Kolenovic (Manhattan, N.Y./NYC Lab) (17) and senior
Esther Rochon (Saint Romuald, Quebec/College Francois-Xavier-Garneau) (13).16 different Knights have recorded at least a point this season.
Reinhardt has recorded at least a point in six straight games and seven of her last eight. Five goals and six assists over that span for 17 of her 19 points on the season.
Elma Kolenovic (Manhattan, N.Y./NYC Lab) has tallied a point in three of her last four games and
Nikki Keicher (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) added two assists in the NEC Semifinal win versus Saint Francis U.
Felicia Burr (Bellingham, Mass./Blackstone-Millville) is one shutout from tying the program's single season record with 8, which was set by Sage DoVale back in 2013. She is also two away from tying the career record of 14 that DoVale holds.
The Knights have scored goals in bunches this season. The two quickest spans have been; 3 goals in 3:09 at LIU Brooklyn (10/16) and 3 goals in 3:29 at Sacred Heart (10/4).
FDU scored 4 goals in the first half in a 4-2 win at Sacred Heart, in the first half in a 4-0 win over Bryant (10/23) and versus Saint Francis U in the first half of a 7-4 win in the NEC Semifinals (11/6).
