No. 12 Rutgers field hockey (4-0) continues their season-opening road trip this weekend, as they travel to Villanova (2-1) on Friday and No. 15 Princeton (0-2) on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights continue to climb the national rankings, moving four spots to No. 12 after starting the season 4-0.
Rutgers started their season-opening road trip in California, going 3-0, defeating UC Davis, Stanford, and Cal. In their previous matchup, the Scarlet Knights defeated No. 15 Uconn 2-1 in double overtime last weekend.
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It’s GAME DAY for #RUFH!
The No. 12 Scarlet Knights are back at it on the road tonight at Villanova pic.twitter.com/Yy0fe0wB39
— Rutgers Field Hockey (@RUFieldHockey) September 8, 2023
Players to watch for Rutgers heading into this weekend’s games are juniors Guillwemina Causarano and Sophia Howard. Causarano, from Salta, Argentina, is the Rutgers’ team leader in goals with three in four games. On the other hand, Howard, from Auckland, New Zealand, is ranked first in the nation in save percentage (.895) and second in goals-against-average. Also, Howard is third in the Big Ten in saves per game (4.25), and the Scarlet Knights are ranked fourth in shutouts per game.
Villanova holds a 19-15-1 all-time series record, but Rutgers defeated the Wildcats the last two times. The two teams played in 2015 when the Scarlet Knights defeated the Wildcats 5-2 and then in 2013 with Rutgers winning 3-2.
On Sunday, the Scarlet Knights will travel to Princeton to take on the No. 15 ranked Tigers. The Tigers and the Scarlet Knights will meet for the 27th time, with Princeton holding a 19-16-1 all-time series record. Princeton started the 2023 season with two losses to No. 9 Louisville and No. 1 North Carolina, falling in the national ranking from No. 10 to No. 15.
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