No. 18 Rutgers captures non-conference win against UC Davis in Iowa
This past weekend, the Rutgers field hockey team traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, for two games. The first was against No. 7 Iowa, where the No. 18 Scarlet Knights (5-5, 0-2) lost in a close battle 2-1. The second game on Saturday was against UC Davis, and Rutgers was able to come out with a 1-0 win to have a better ending to its travels in Iowa.
Once again, the Knights allowed the Hawkeyes (9-2, 3-0) to score a goal in the first quarter of the game. This has been a regular occurrence against Big Ten teams. Iowa scored in 13 minutes and then once again in the third quarter to come out on top.
This game was close in stats though, which is not usually how Big Ten games end for Rutgers. The Hawkeyes ended the game with eight shots and the Knights had a total of seven shots. But, this was important for Iowa because all eight of its shots were on goal, while Rutgers only had 4 of the 7 on goal.
Sophomore midfielder Tayla Parkes made the one goal against the Hawkeyes, which was her second goal of the season. Her first goal was against No. 4 Maryland, which ended in another loss for the Knights.
Most notably, Rutgers had six saves, while Iowa had three, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. Junior goalkeeper Gianna Glatz was recently named Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in her career. She puts up great numbers in saves, for each one of her years as a Knight.
Even against the Aggies (5-5), Glatz was able to save the three shots on goal that were attempted. With at least one more year from Glatz, Rutgers is in good hands.
In that same game on Saturday, the Knights had a high shot count, ending the game with 12 shots and eight shots on goal.
In both UC Davis and the Hawkeyes' games, Rutgers was able to stay right next to the opposing team in corners. Against Iowa, both teams had four corners. Also against the Aggies, the Knights had five corners while UC Davis had four total. Both games were relatively close.
But, the game against the Aggies was not quite as easy as it would seem. Rutgers has only able to score in the final quarter of the game. It was true freshman forward Rachel Houston that was able to make the first and final goal with less than 10 minutes of the game left.
This makes it Houston’s second goal of the season and her career as a Knight. Her first goal was scored at Princeton in the history-making game win.
Houston has played in every game this season with a start in one. She has three more years left as a Rutgers player, and with such an amazing season so far, it will be interesting to see where she goes.
In the game against the Hawkeyes, it was the Knights' seventh ranked opponent, and it was the fifth in the top 10. The schedule that Rutgers has right now is a tough one, to say the least.
With a tough schedule like they’re in now, the Knights have the chance to progress against these tough teams. The program will build and build as they continue to challenge themselves against Big Ten teams that are ranked in the top ten in the country.
With a game against Indiana on the horizon, Rutgers has a week to prepare for a home game against an unranked team in the Big Ten. One thing to work on is the fact that it allows a goal to be scored in the first quarter and the first 15 minutes of the game, which only challenges it further on.
"This win was a great response after a tough game against Iowa,” said head coach Meredith Civico. “I am very proud of the way our team has been able to overcome adversity and grow each week. We are looking forward to returning home and preparing for next weekend, starting Friday with Indiana."
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