PISCATAWAY, N.J. - It is a one-game weekend for No. 19 Rutgers field hockey, as the Scarlet Knights will take a quick flight to Evanston, Illinois to take on No. 10 Northwestern on Friday. RU sits at 7-3 on the season, and 2-0 in Big Ten play after shutouts over Indiana and then-No. 19 Iowa in the opening weekend of league action. Beginning with the Iowa game last Sunday, Rutgers is in a stretch of four straight games against currently ranked teams, and six of their last eight games of the regular season are against ranked opponents. 

"Northwestern always has a good team," head coach Meredith Civico said. "They are always a very well structured team. We have to focus on organizing early on and playing proactive defense. We've proven we can compete with any team in the Big Ten if we execute as a team."

Rutgers is led in all offensive categories by freshman Daphne Groothuis, who has six goals, five assists and 17 points. Goalkeeper Gianna Glatz holds a 1.28 goals-against-average and .739 save percentage. Her two shutouts last weekend earned her Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. In RU's win over Iowa Sunday, only three upperclassmen saw action, starters senior Haley Meade and junior Linde van Schaik (who is second on the team with five goals, four assists and 14 points), along with junior Nikki Profita. Rutgers played six freshmen and five sophomores last weekend including eight total newcomers to this year's squad. 

Northwestern enters the game at 7-4, and has won five of its past six games. Their four losses have all come to teams ranked in the top-12 in the nation (No. 4 UConn, No. 12 Boston College, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Penn State). Their wins are highlighted by Sunday's 3-2 victory at No. 10 Maryland, a 1-0 win over No. 13 Stanford in the season opener, and they also earned their first Big Ten victory in overtime over Ohio State. 

Puck Pentenga leads the Wildcats with 16 points (three goals, 10 assists), while Kirsten Mansfield and Pascale Massey lead the squad with five goals. Mansfield is the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after three goal, including two game-winners, last week. In net, Annie Kalfas has a 1.56 goals-against-average and a .797 save percentage, with three shutouts (two of which were against ranked teams).  

Northwestern has won all three previous meetings with the Scarlet Knights. In RU's only trip to Evanston, the 2014 matchup went into double-overtime before the Wildcats prevailed 1-0. Last season a late RU surge fell short in a 5-3 loss.