ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine women's soccer team will host Merrimack in the 2024 home opener at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Mahaney Diamond.

The Black Bears will then head to New Jersey to take on Rutgers at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1.
 
Maine's home-opener against the Warriors will stream live on America East TV while Sunday's contest at Rutgers will stream on BIG+.
 
Game 4 | Maine vs Merrimack
Thursday, Aug. 29 | 6 p.m. | America East TV
Orono, Maine | Mahaney Diamond
 
Game 5 | Maine at Rutgers
Sunday, Sept. 1 | 1 p.m. | BIG+
Piscataway, N.J. | Yurcak Field
 
ABOUT MAINE
• Maine enters the week at 2-0-1 after earning a 1-0 win at Rhode Island on Sunday … Jordane Pinette scored the game's lone goal en route to America East Offensive Player of the Week honors.
• After three games, Hermann Trophy Watch List-member Abby Kraemer and Lara Kirkby are tied for the team lead in points with five each … Kraemer has one goal and three assists while Kirkby has two goals and an assist.
• Maine returns 95 percent of the scoring from a season ago, including nine of the top 10 point-getters.
• The Black Bears went 11-2-6 overall in 2023 en route to the program's first-ever America East tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.
 
ABOUT MERRIMACK
• Merrimack enters Thursday night at 1-2 -0, having beat UMass Lowell and dropping contests to Boston College and Dartmouth.
• The Warriors went 10-4-4 overall in 2023 … Merrimack was picked to finish seventh in the 2024 MAAC Preseason Poll, receiving one first place vote.
• Jillian Golden, Bella Keogh and Taylor Pedra have each scored a goal for Merrimack … goalkeeper Lily Morgan is 1-2-0 with a .743 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs MERRIMACK
• Maine sits at 1-1-3 in the all-time series with Merrimack.
• The teams met last season in North Andover, battling to a 1-1 tie … Abby Kraemer scored for Maine.
• The Black Bears' lone win in the series came in the first-ever meeting in the form of a 3-1 victory back in 2019.
 
ABOUT RUTGERS
• Rutgers, who hosts Lehigh on Wednesday night, sit at 1-1-1 on the year after opening up with three straight road games … Rutgers topped NJIT (1-0), tied Wake Forest (1-1) and fell at UMass (1-0).
• The Scarlet Knights went 9-7-4 overall and 5-4-1 in Big Ten play in 2023 while earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th consecutive season.
• Emily Mason and Reilly McGlinn have each scored a goal for Rutgers this year … Riley Tiernan is the leading returning point scorer after finishing second on the team with 10 (3-4-10) a season ago.
 
SERIES HISTORY vs RUTGERS
• Maine and Rutgers have met just one other time, with the Scarlet Knights earning a 2-0 win in 1996.
• Sunday will be Maine's first-ever game against a team in the Big 10 at the time of the contest.
 
UP NEXT
• Maine will return home next week to host Stonehill on Sunday, Sept. 8.
• Kick off is set for 12 p.m. at Mahaney Diamond.