Rutgers field hockey, Kara Heck best No. 7 Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals
The Rutgers field hockey team defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament opening round on Thursday. The Scarlet Knights (8-8, 4-4) are moving on to the tournament's semifinals after a 2-1 victory.
Both squads did not see much action in the first quarter, but Rutgers still worked the momentum in its favor, forcing Buckeyes (14-5, 4-4) goalkeeper Abby Danson to make two saves early.
Those two shots from the Knights were the only ones put on target in the period.
Things started heating up for Rutgers in the second quarter. Graduate student forward Kara Heck scored the first goal of the game, her fifth of the season, to put her team ahead 1-0.
Heck’s goal came in the final 5 minutes of the half, putting the Knights in position to lead going into the closing 30 minutes.
Rutgers came back from the break fresh and ready to extend its lead, and the team did exactly that.
Heck got to the net early, setting the Knights up with a comfortable 2-0 lead on an insurance tally. This goal marked Heck’s first multi-goal game of the season.
Heck’s second goal proved to be an important one when Ohio State battled right back, cutting its deficit in half and finally breaking through.
Makenna Webster scored on a corner awarded to the Buckeyes, a goal that came only 40 seconds after Heck’s.
Rutgers kept its lead through the third, getting a couple of shots on goal late in the period, but the score would remain locked.
The name of the game in the final frame would be preserving a lead, and that is exactly what the Knights would do.
Senior goalkeeper Sophia Howard silenced the Buckeyes in the end, making three saves on the day for Rutgers.
This huge victory paves a path for the Knights in the postseason. The team will take on No. 1-seeded Northwestern in the semifinals tomorrow. The game will be a test for Rutgers, a team that has struggled against the powerhouse that the Wildcats have become.
The next round of the Big Ten Tournament will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, with the Knights taking the stage tomorrow at 1 p.m.
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