Rutgers field hockey to end regular season at home against No. 17 Penn State
The Rutgers field hockey team picked up a statement 1-0 win on Sunday against Ohio State, the No. 3 ranked team in the country. The Scarlet Knights (6-7, 3-4) are on a two-game win streak, which they will look to continue against Penn State, No. 17 ranked in the nation.
The Nittany Lions (8-7, 2-4) will travel to Piscataway for Rutgers' final home game of the season on Friday.
Here's a breakdown on both teams and what it'll take for the Knights to come out on top.
Starting with Penn State's offense, it almost always shoots off the stick of Sophia Gladieux. Gladieux has taken 100 shots this year and put 63 on goal. Through 15 games, Gladieux has a team-high 19 goals, the next closest being Julienne van Bekkum at 3 goals. But Van Bekkum leads the team with five assists, Gladieux trailing behind with four.
Defending the net from Gladieux and her teammates is redshirt senior goalkeeper Sophia Howard’s monumental task. Howard has been consistently blocking shots at an approximate 66 percent rate this season, conceding 25 goals and saving 50 shots. She was most recently named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and National Defensive Player of the Week.
On the other side of the field, Aby Deverka will stand in goal for Penn State. Deverka has put up similar numbers to Howard throughout her 12 games, saving more goals than Howard at 68 but also conceding more at 35.
A committee from Rutgers will attack Deverka — starting with senior midfielder Guillermina Causarano, who leads the team in points with 21, off 6 goals and nine assists, followed by senior midfielder Paulina Niklaus, who has scored a team-high 7 goals and notched three assists.
Behind Causarano and Niklaus is the rest of the committee. Senior forward Kara Heck has 4 goals and a pair of assists, redshirt junior midfielder Vicky Jure and freshman midfielder Anna Cogdell each have 2 goals apiece. Freshman forward Sophie Kuiper has 3 goals, including the lone goal in Sunday’s win against the Buckeyes (12-2, 3-2) and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Despite the losing record, the Knights have outscored opponents 28 to 26 and have outshot opponents 166 to 136.
Friday's game will start at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
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