SUFFOLK AT ELMS
Date Time Venue Video Stats Series Last Meeting   Last Suffolk Win Streak	Friday, Sept. 1 4:00 PM East Boston Memorial Park East Boston, Mass. Suffolk Playsight GoSuffolKRams.com Suffolk Leads, 2-0-1 Sept. 1, 2022, T, 0-0 Sept. 1, 2021, W, 1-0 (2OT) T1

BOSTON – Suffolk women's soccer will pull the curtain back on its 2023 campaign Friday, Sept. 1 when it entertains Elms at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park at 4 p.m. 

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

RAMS ROOKIES
Suffolk women's soccer's head coach Ellie McDougall's first recruiting class features nine as eight true freshmen and one grad transfer will be added to the Rams' roster for an added boost in 2023.   

Bradyn Radford will wrap up her collegiate career in Suffolk blue-and-gold after playing four seasons at Clarkson, while Makena Columbus, Arden Ferrari-Henry, Angelina Giovanni, Camille Morin-Trotta, Madelyn Murray, Isa Pereza, Avery Porter and Malia Young will get their collegiate plays underway for the Rams. 

MORE READING: Women's Soccer Recruits Nine Newcomers 

GEOGRAPHY 101
The 2023 Rams feature 31 players representing eight states. There are 15 student-athletes that call Massachusetts home. Four came up from Connecticut and three made their way from New Hampshire and Rhode Island, respectively. A pair traveled in from California and Florida with one student-athlete from both Nevada and Oregon.  

CLASS CATEGORIES
Suffolk's squad is comprised of all four classes nearly evenly divided. Nine juniors lead the way with eight true freshmen, seven seniors and six sophomores.  

POSITION PLAUDITS
Position wise, 31 student-athletes are divided between a bakers dozen midfielders (13), eight defensemen, six forwards and two goalies with a pair of multi-positional players in the mix as well. 

RAMS RINGLEADERS
Three upperclassmen will don the 'C' for the 2023 Suffolk women's soccer season as second-year head coach Ellie McDougall announced that seniors Alicia Bibi and Klaudia Rushi and junior Grace Owens will share the role.  

MORE READING: Women's Soccer Names Tri-Captains for 2023 

COACH'S CORNER
Ellie McDougall was named the head women's soccer coach in February 2022 and will begin her second season at Suffolk in the fall of 2023.

McDougall became the fourth head coach in the Rams' history and second female to lead the program. Suffolk marks her first collegiate head coaching role.

McDougall has help on the sidelines as long-time Goalkeeper's Coach Stephen Hill returns, with Douglas Meloni joining the coaching ranks as an assistant for his first season. 

FIRST THINGS FIRST

• Suffolk has strung together a 6-7-2 season opener record.
• The Rams are unbeaten in their last three openers (2-0-1), all of which have come against Elms.
• A day one decision has been decided via shutout four times in Suffolk's history including the last three seasons.
• The Rams are 2-1-1 when a team is kept off the scoreboard in the first outing of the season.
• Suffolk starts it year at home for the first time since 2021 when it hosted and defeated Elms, 1-0. 
• The Rams hold a 5-3-0 record when playing day one at home.
• The Rams are 2-5-2 in the first game of the year as the away team.
• The blue-and-gold has needed extra time to determine a winner in its first outing of the year three times.
• Suffolk is 1-1-1 when playing in OT outings in the first game of the year.
• All three of the Rams overtime opening-day outings have gone into double overtime.
• Suffolk will meet Elms in game one for the fourth straight season. The Rams are 2-0-1 against Blazers not just in the season debut, but in the all-time series. 
• Suffolk sits 0-0-1 in game one under Ellie McDougall. 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
In a vote by the Commonwealth Coast Conference's nine head coaches, Suffolk women's soccer team has been projected to place eighth in the preseason coaches' poll, released Wednesday by the league office.  

MORE READING: Women's Soccer Slotted Eighth in CCC Coaches Preseason Poll

BLAZERS BREAKDOWN
Elms is predicted to finish in the middle of the GNAC after going 5-7-5 overall a year ago.  

Three of the top four offensive outputters from last season are back for the Blazers including Caroline Wilcox, who sat second on the team in points with seven behind three goals and one helper. Emily Maffuccio and Jamie McDonough are set to return as well after producing a pair of goals apiece last season. 

Elms keepers from last season are back as well in Angela Picheo (1.11 GAA, .855 save %) and Gianna Liquori (1.75 GAA, .774 save %). 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk is unbeaten, 2-0-1, all-time against Elms in a series that start in 2019. 
• Every game between the Rams and Blazers have been decided via shutout. 
• Both of Suffolk's victories were 1-0 decisions. 
• The series has been split between home (1-0-0) and road (1-0-1) contests. 
• Suffolk and Elms has need extra time to decide a winner once, the first-ever meeting, Sept. 1, 2019. That outing went into double overtime and ended in a 1-0 victory for the Rams. 
• Two games against Elms, not including the 2023 opener, have been played on the first of September. 
• All three of the Rams and Blazers games were season openers for the respective seasons that they took place.  
• The Rams look for their first victory against Elms with Ellie McDougall on the sidelines.

MORE INFO: Suffolk vs. Elms – All-Time Series 

EYES ON THE GAME
 

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
The Rams hit the road for the first time in 2023 when they travel to UMass Dartmouth Tuesday, Sept. 5 for a 7 p.m. non-conference kick-off.