LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Aug. 29, 2023) - The 2023 Women's Soccer season is upon us as Georgian Court plays a pair of games this opening week, one at home and one on the road. 

Opponents (2022 Record)
#11 The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights (19-1-3, 9-0-3 NE10)
RV Frostburg State Bobcats (18-2-2, 14-1-1 MEC)

Where
Lakewood, NJ - vs. The College of Saint Rose
Boyds, MC - at Frostburg State

When
Thursday, Aug. 31 - 3 p.m. vs. The College of Saint Rose
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 1 p.m. at Frostburg State

How to Watch
Both games are available to watch via a free to view broadcast. The match vs. the College of Saint Rose will be aired on the Georgian Court portal of the CACC Digital Network. To view the match at Frostburg State, fans can watch on Mountain East TV. Links for both live video and stats are available above and on the Lions schedule page. 

Previously vs. The College of Saint Rose
• It's been quite a while since the Lions and Golden Knights squared off in the regular season. They last met in 2008 at the NCAA Regional Tournament, a 2-0 win for the College of Saint Rose.
• All-time, the Golden Knights lead the series 7-4-1. 
• This will be the College of Saint Rose's fourth trip to Lakewood. In the previous three, each team has won one match with a draw in the third.

Previously vs. Frostburg State
• This is the return trip of a home-and-home for the Lions and the Bobcats. The two met last year in what was their first ever meeting.
• Frostburg scored once in the first half and twice in the second of a 3-0 win.
• The Bobcats controlled most of the possession ripping 22 shots to the Lions nine. 

CACC Preseason
• Last week the CACC unveiled their 2023 Preseason Coaches Poll. Georgian Court, who finished 4-7-7 last year and 3-5-4 in conference were picked to finish in 10th place.
• A year ago Georgian Court tied for ninth place in the final league standings. 
• Bridgeport was atop the poll with Jefferson, Holy Family, Post and Goldey-Beacom making up the top-five.

Key Returners
• Of the 11 Lions who started 10 or more games last year, seven return. That includes leading point scorer Aliya Canfield.
• Abby Kennelly and Sophia Ridolfo shared the team lead with four assists in 2022 and they each are back in the mix for 2023. 
• Georgian Court brings back 68% of their goals scored in 2022 and 60% of all their assists. 

New Faces
• One position where the Lions lost their starter is in net. Alyssa Dias started all 18 games last season and played all but 135 minutes. 
• Georgian Court will have plenty of options between the pipes with five goalkeepers on the roster. Senior Carley Polchak saw action with the Lions in 2022. They also have junior transfer Emma Bennett from Brookdale Community College along with freshmen Morgan Highland, Jaeleigh Tuccille and Delanie Wilkinson. 
• This is the largest women's soccer roster in the history of Georgian Court with 36 women on the team. They've brought in 12 freshmen for the season with five transfers for a total of 17 new faces in 2023.

Individual Milestones
• Aliya Canfield is moving up the Lions all-time goals scored charts. She has 18 in her career which is ninth all-time and five behind eighth place. 
• Emily Clayton is three games away from playing in her 40th career match.

About The College of Saint Rose
• The College of Saint Rose has been one of the premier teams in Division II for a number of years. This includes winning a national championship in 2011 under current head coach Laurie Darling Gutheil.
• They once again won the Northeast 10 Tournament in 2022, their third straight. They advanced to the East Region final before bowing out to Franklin Pierce 2-1 in overtime. 
• In the preseason coaches poll, the Golden Knights were picked to finish first in the Northeast-10 and was tabbed at No. 11 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches to start the season.
• The College of Saint Rose outscored their opponents 64-12 last year, getting 12 goals apiece from Mia Klammer and Kaelyn Britt. Only Klammer is back for 2023 however.
• Goaltender Pia Bozic who started all 23 games a year ago is also back in net for the Golden Knights.

About Frostburg State
• Frostburg State also enjoyed a terrific 2022 season going 18-2-2 overall and 14-1-1 in the Mountain East Conference. 
• The Bobcats stumbled a bit down the stretch, falling in penalty kicks in the MEC Tournament finals to Fairmont State and dropping the first game of the Regional 3-0 to Kutztown.
• Coming into the season, Frostburg State has been picked to win the MEC North Division. They finished one point ahead of Fairmont State with one more first-place vote.
• The Bobcats are also receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top-25 poll.
• A year ago, the Bobcats were led by Toni Fiocco-Mizer and her 14 goals. She scored a pair against the Lions and returns for her senior season in 2023.
• Frostburg State had five scored at least 10 points in 2022 and all five are back in 2023. 
• Also back is goalkeeper Ashley Bilger who started 20 games and sported a 0.62 goals against average with 54 saves and an 81.8% save percentage.