No. 5 Rutgers field hockey defeats No. 4 Penn State 1-0
Another ranked opponent up, another ranked opponent down. The No. 5 Rutgers field hockey team took down No. 4 Penn State for its third time in a row, 1-0 last Friday.
Making the trip to University Park, Pennsylvania, proved to be the Scarlet Knights’ (10-2, 3-1) sixth win on the road of the season and their second victory against a top 5 opponent.
In the first quarter, Rutgers launched four shots and forced Brie Barraco to make a save. The Nittany Lions (9-3, 3-2) sent their lone shot of the quarter on goal which senior goalkeeper Gianna Glatz was able to block.
Penn State had all the offense in the next quarter, recording three shots while Glatz made two saves. Both came on a streak of three consecutive corners. Teams went into the halftime break knotted up at 0-0.
The Knights didn’t let the tie go for much longer. Three minutes and 10 seconds into the second half, junior forward Rachel Houston scored her second goal of the year. The unassisted tally ties Houston’s career-high from two years ago. She has now reached her career-high in points at 6.
Both teams had their opportunities to score in the third quarter, recording five shots each. Glatz made four saves and Barraco blocked two shots.
Going into the final frame, the teams were even at nine shots while the Nittany Lions held an 8-5 advantage in penalty corners and added to their total as the game clock ticked away. Rutgers fired three shots and had three penalty corners, but Barraco blocked all away. Penn State had four corners in the last 60 seconds but Glatz and the defense turned them all away.
Glatz recorded her season-high eight saves. Her stops also propelled her past Rosalyn Wentko and into sixth place in Knights history.
The Knights have two games this weekend, the first against No. 8 Maryland on Friday and Columbia on Sunday. Both games will be played at the Bauer Track and Field Complex in Piscataway.
The Terrapins (9-4, 1-3) won their last two games, both against opponents outside the Big Ten. Maryland hasn’t won within the Big Ten since late September. The Lions (6-4, 0-3) are on a four-game losing streak.
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