PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey is back at the Bauer Complex this Friday for the final home game of the 2024 regular season. The Scarlet Knights will host No. 17 Penn State in the team’s final Big Ten Conference game, welcoming the Nittany Lions for a 2 p.m. contest on Friday afternoon.
The game will stream on B1G+, with Dom Savino and former Rutgers field hockey team captain Kerrie Burns on the call. It will also be Senior Day, with a postgame ceremony honoring the team’s seniors. RU will recognize eight student-athletes and a student manager in the ceremony: Paulina Niklaus, Indy van Ek, Ava Cickavage, Lucy Bannatyne, Guillermina Causarano, Vicky Jure, Bridy Molyneaux, Sophia Howard and student-manager Amy Kim.
“We had such good energy all last week and with the two wins,” Sophia Howard said. “We need to keep using that energy, keeping that up all week throughout training and preparing for Penn State.”
About Rutgers
Rutgers snapped a three-game losing streak this by posting a pair of Big Ten shutouts this past weekend. RU shut out Michigan State (2-0) and then toppled No. 3 Ohio State (1-0). With the wins, Rutgers improved to 6-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
“We just want to look forwards now,” captain Paulina Niklaus said. “The two wins last weekend were really important for us.”
Sophie Kuiper scored two of the three goals for RU on the weekend, potting both game-winners and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Niklaus had the other goal, coming on a penalty stroke, and she leads the team with seven goals.
Howard backstopped the team’s defense in the two shutouts, including blanking OSU’s offense that entered fifth in the nation in scoring. For the second time this season, Howard was named the NFHCA’s National Defensive Player of the Week.
Rutgers rose to number 14 in the NCAA’s RPI rankings this week, making them the highest ranked team with less than nine win. The team has strong metrics, with two top-20 RPI wins, as six of their seven losses have come to teams to teams in the top-13 of the RPI. The team will have the opportunity to improve those numbers this week as they host PSU, who is 15 in the RPI.
About Penn State
The Nittany Lions are No. 17 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll and 15th in the NCAA’s RPI. PSU is 8-7 overall and 2-4 in league play. Penn State began the year with a 6-3 record,…
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