Sept. 11, 2016
Box Score
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers field hockey defeated Cornell 4-2 on Sunday afternoon to move to 4-2 on the season. The Scarlet Knights got goals from Linde van Schaik , Devon Freshnock , Katie Larmour and Nikki Santore to deal the Big Red their first loss of the season (3-1). Rutgers now has a three-game winning streak.
The Scarlet Knights came out strong, and took a 3-0 lead into halftime. Cornell mounted a late charge, but RU added an insurance tally to ice the game.
"Our strong first half was critical to our success," head coach Meredith Civico said. "Establishing that early lead put the pressure on Cornell. It was fantastic to have four different goal scorers today. This whole weekend, scoring seven goals against Ohio and then four today, puts us in a really good place going towards conference play. This was a big game for us against a very good team, and it's great to remain undefeated at home."
Van Schaik got Rutgers off to a good start with a goal just 1:56 into the game. The sophomore blasted a shot home from the goalkeeper's left.
Fifteen minutes later, the Scarlet Knights ran a corner play to perfection to add to the lead. Off an insert from Haley Meade , Alyssa Bull stopped it and Freshnock rifled in her fourth goal of the season.
RU then made it 3-0 with freshman Katie Larmour scoring her first career goal. After a corner, Sofia Walia sent a ball across, and the midfielder from Belfast, Ireland deflected it home.
The strong first half gave the home squad a 3-0 lead at the break. They held an 8-0 advantage in shots and 4-1 advantage in corners.
In the second half, the Big Red amped up the pressure. A series of corners saw Shevaun Hayes make five saves in successive fashion before finally the visitors broke through with a goaol. They shortly added another, cutting the RU lead to 3-2 and forcing them to take a timeout to regroup.
After the pause, the Scarlet Knights came back on the offensive. After earning a corner, Santore knocked in a feed from Freshnock for an insurance tally, which would hold up in a 4-2 win.
Shevaun Hayes made six saves to earn the win in goal. RU outshot Cornell 16-9 on the day and had an 8-7 edge in corners.
Next up for the Scarlet Knights is a home contest Sunday against Sienna. Game time is noon.
Postgame Notes
Freshman Nikki Santore finishes the weekend with four goals and two assists in two games.
She currently leads the team with five goals and 13 points.
The last time a Rutgers freshman had at least five goals in a season was Rachel Yaney in 2013.
Larmour, who had her first career goal, becomes the fourth Rutgers player to score their first career goal this season, joining Kimberly Jevic and Megan Cunningham, who both did so on Thursday, and Santore.
Freshnock had her fourth game with at least one goal and one assist, and her second consecutive game doing so.
Meade, a junior who entered the September 4th game with no career points, now has three straight games with an assist.
Freshnock tied her career high with four goals on the season.
Alyssa Bull had her 17th career assist, moving into 9th place all-time at Rutgers.
Rutgers now leads the all-time series against Cornell 6-3.
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