No. 12 Rutgers field hockey takes down Villanova, No. 15 Princeton to stay undefeated
The Rutgers field hockey team continued its undefeated start to the season with wins against Villanova and Princeton. The Scarlet Knights (6-0, 0-0) picked up their second-ranked win of the season and now have had their best start to a campaign since 2008.
No. 12 Rutgers started off the weekend with a 6-2 win over the Wildcats (2-3, 0-0) on Friday. The Knights got off to a fast start, as graduate student forward Marique Dieudonne scored her 1st goal of the season after approximately 4 minutes of play. Villanova responded with a goal from Sabine de Ruijter approximately 4 minutes later.
Rutgers retook the lead at the end of the first quarter after sophomore back Puck Winter found the back of the cage.
The second quarter would be a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to create offensive chances. The Knights would score the lone goal of the quarter from Winter once again.
Entering halftime, Rutgers led the Wildcats by a score of 3-1.
The Knights extended their lead to 3 goals after Dieudonne netted her 2nd goal of the game early on in the third quarter. Villanova would respond with a goal from Amanda Middleman, but that would be the last goal the Wildcats would score.
Rutgers would score 2 more goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to cap off a dominant 6-2 victory. Winter would score the Knights' final goal to cap off her hat trick.
Despite conceding 2 goals, junior goalkeeper Sophia Howard made three crucial saves.
Rutgers would continue its positive momentum by defeating the Tigers (1-3, 0-0) in overtime by a score of 2-1 today.
The first half was a close affair, as both sides played strong defense and battled to find the breakthrough goal.
The Knights would open the scoring first late in the third quarter. Senior forward Bridy Molyneaux scored the goal thanks to an assist from junior forward Noelle Leaf. No. 15 Princeton would respond approximately 3 minutes later with a goal from Liz Agatucci.
With the game tied at 1-1 after regulation, the contest would head to overtime. In regulation, Rutgers had a 9-1 lead in shots and took two more corners than the Tigers.
Neither side could find the game-winning goal in the first period of overtime. Approximately 4 minutes into the second period of overtime, Winter would score the crucial goal to win the game for the Knights. It is the first time Rutgers has started 6-0 under head coach Meredith Civico.
The Knights will look to continue their successful start to the season on the road in their first conference game against No. 11 Penn State on Friday. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Big Ten Plus.
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