On Thursday, No. 6 Rutgers field hockey continued their strong start to the season with a 3-2 victory over No. 8 Maryland. The Scarlet Knights improved to 10-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with their fifth and highest-ranked victory this season.
For Rutgers, it was their first win over a top 10 school?
Rutgers’ tenth victory came thrillingly when the Scarlet Knights defeated the Terps in a shootout, scoring on three of its first four attempts while halting Maryland on three of their four shots.
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Rutgers junior Julianne Kopec and Guillermina Causarano scored goals in the game, with the Scarlet Knights winning the shot advantage 18-11 against the Terps. Kopec and Causarano have combined for ten Scarlet Knights goals this season.
A thrilling penalty shootout victory for #RUFH over No. 8 Maryland!
⚔️4th ranked win this season (1st top-10 win)
⚔️ 12th top-10 win since 2021
⚔️ 2-1 in last 3 vs. Maryland, both being top-10 wins
⚔️ 10-0 overall, 2-0 in Big TenRecap: https://t.co/YqDL3JEySa pic.twitter.com/jHsY5ahsAg
— Rutgers Field Hockey (@RUFieldHockey) September 28, 2023
Rutgers redshirt junior Sophia Howard recorded four saves in the net, logging 35 saves in ten games. Howard has registered a 79.5 save percentage through ten games, ranking third in the Big Ten Conference.
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In just the second home game of the season, the Scarlet Knights captured secured their twelfth top-10 win since the spring 2021 season. Also, it is their second straight season with a 2-0 start.
This is now the fourth time since 2018 that Rutgers has 10 wins in a season. Before that time, Rutgers had only won 10 games once in their previous 18 seasons.
Rutgers will get some home cooking for a little bit. Next week, they will host No. 15 Michigan (Friday, 3 p.m.) and Monmouth (Sunday, 1 p.m.).