NJAC Release | 2015 Schedule

PITMAN, N.J. (August 18, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's soccer team was picked to finish sixth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) according to a poll of the league's 10 head coaches, it was announced Tuesday morning by the conference office.
 
The Scarlet Raiders are coming off a historic season, setting the program-record for wins with 14 and finishing the year 14-8-2 overall. R-N earned the first NJAC Tournament berth in the program's history and went on to win a postseason match for the first time as well. After falling in the first round of the NJAC Championship, the Raiders rolled into the final of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro/Upstate Championship.
 
Rutgers-Newark returns four all-conference players from the 2014 team in senior midfielder Cristina Estremera, junior forward Paige Lazar, senior midfielder Sara Corson and junior back Victoria Benet.
 
The 2014 version of the Scarlet Raiders went 4-4-1 in the conference and compiled a 4-1-0 record at home in NJAC play. The 2015 squad will start the year on the road September 2 in the first of three road matches. The '15 home-opener will be on September 9 at Alumni Field with the NJAC opener slated for September 19 at The College of the New Jersey.
 
TCNJ topped the poll with six first-place votes, and Montclair State University was second with four first-place tallies. Rowan University, Richard Stockton and Kean University rounded out of the top five, while Ramapo College, William Paterson University, Rutgers University-Camden and New Jersey City University were in places seven, eight, nine and 10. Two teams in the conference are ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top-25 in TCNJ (No. 9) and MSU (No. 24), with both teams representing the conference on the national stage a year ago in the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.
 

2015 NJAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll

1. TCNJ (6)

2. Montclair State (4)

3. Rowan

4. Stockton (dark horse)

5. Kean

6. Rutgers-Newark

7. Ramapo

8. William Paterson

9. Rutgers-Camden

10. New Jersey City

First Place Votes In Parentheses