When: Thursday, September 26, 2024
Where: Tiger Field | Towson, Md.
Time: Thursday- 4:00 p.m.
Team Records: Northeastern (0-6-3, 0-1-0 CAA) vs. Towson (2-3-5, 0-1-0 CAA)
Stream: FloFC
Series: Northeastern Leads 13-8-3
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's soccer returns home to Tiger Field to host Northeastern on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Tigers are coming off a 1-0 loss to Drexel last Thursday. The teams battled back and forth in the first half, but couldn't find the back of the net. The Dragons scored early in the second half to take the lead. The Tigers tried to find an equalizer, but were denied by Joella Chase, who made seven saves.
 
HISTORIC 2023 SEASON:
The Tigers are looking to build off an excellent 2023 campaign that saw Towson pick up its first CAA Championship in program history, defeating Monmouth 2-1, which included a last-minute penalty save by Riley Melendez. Towson earned the one seed in the conference tournament and won just its third and fourth ever CAA Tournament games since joining the league in 2002. Towson boasted the top defense in the CAA last year allowing just 0.70 goals against with 11 shutouts.
 
Towson also boasted its most wins in a single season, picking up 15 as they went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Tigers went undefeated at home with a 9-0-1 record. Towson took home four of the six major CAA awards including Attacking Player of the Year (Nia Christopher), Midfielder of the Year (Jasmine Hamid), Goalkeeper of the Year (Riley Melendez) and Coach of the Year (Katherine Vettori).
 
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP:
The Tigers wrapped up their non-conference schedule going 2-2-5. Towson fell to Virginia to start the season, then defeated UMBC 1-0. The Tigers drew St. John's, before falling to George Washington. Towson picked up a 9-0 win over Delaware State, then drew Florida and Maryland 1-1, securing its first result over a SEC opponent. The Tigers closed out their non-conference slate with draws against Penn and Saint Joseph's.
 
BRICK WALL DEFENSE:
Riley Melendez was a key part of a stalwart defense for the Tigers that allowed just 14 goals all season and seven in conference play. The senior from Virginia was named CAA Goalkeeper of the Year for her efforts that also landed her on the All-CAA First Team for the second straight year.
 
The Tigers return two starting defenders from last season including All-CAA Third Team Maja Hansson. Towson also welcomes back junior defender Reese Borden who was tied for third on the team in assists last season with five, a career high.
 
Melendez has continued where she left off last season, making 5.10 saves per game, which leads the CAA. The senior goalkeeper is second in the CAA in save percentage with an 83.6% mark. She currently leads the conference in saves with 51.
 
RECORD WATCH:
Goalkeeper Riley Melendez is now the program leader in career shutouts with 31, surpassing Hall of Famer Tina Steck who had 28. Melendez is also top ten in saves in program history ranking sixth all-time with 286 saves.
 
She is also looking to pass former teammate Jacey Miller in most games played with 84, trailing by only eight. Demi Pierre is now second all-time in most appearances in program history with 80.
 
NEW FACES:
The Tigers welcome 12 new players this season, including seven transfers. Taylor Tolson (Coastal Carolina), Kale'a Perry (Lipscomb), Courtney Butlion (La Salle), Sydney Feiler (VCU), Hana Soliman (George Mason), Melissa Groseibl (Canisius) and Brooke Birrell (Maryland) join the Tigers. Anna Casler, Malin Bernt Schöps, Emma Levin, Jordan Baartman and Sofia Rosenblatt join the squad as first years.
 
COASTAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION OUTLOOK:
The Towson University women's soccer team was voted to finish in third place after receiving four first-place votes in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason Poll. The Tigers were picked to finish in third place and received 123 points with four first-place votes while Monmouth was voted to finish in first and Hofstra in second.
 
Riley Melendez, Demi Pierre and Maja Hansson were all named to the 2024 Preseason All-CAA Women's Soccer Team. Graduate student midfielder Rebecca Groseibl was named All-CAA Honorable Mention.
 
THINGS YOU LOVE TO SEE
Midfielder Malin Bernt Schöps was named CAA Co-Rookie of the Week earlier this year. Bernt Schöps totaled five points during the week to give Towson its first CAA Rookie of the Week since spring 2021, when Demi Pierre earned the honor. The midfielder started the week by scoring her first two collegiate goals in Towson's 9-0 victory against Delaware State. She then tallied her first assist of the season to set up Maja Hansson's game tying goal versus Florida in the final seconds to help Towson secure its first result against a SEC opponent.

Riley Melendez was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week earlier this month. She totaled 11 saves as the Tigers picked up two results during the week. The Springfield, Virginia native tallied nine saves for the second time this season, including two penalty saves to draw Penn 1-1 yesterday. Melendez added two saves in Towson's 1-1 draw against Maryland on Thursday.
 
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
The Huskies bring in a 0-6-3 overall record and have a 0-1-0 record in the CAA. Northeastern opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Boston University, then fell 1-0 to San Francisco. The Huskies bounced back with a 1-1 draw against San Jose State, before dropping their next two matches to Harvard and UMass 4-0. Northeastern fell to Providence 3-2, then drew to Bryant 0-0. The Huskies wrapped up non-conference play with a 6-1 loss to Brown. Northeastern opened CAA play with a 2-1 loss to Elon.
 
NEXT UP
The Tigers head up to Long Island to take on Hofstra on Sunday, September 29th at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed on FloFC.