EVANSTON, Ill.  – In a wild, back-and-forth affair, No. 20 Rutgers field hockey was edged 4-3 by No. 10 Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Scarlet Knights (9-9) took a 3-2 lead with nine minutes to go in the second half, but were undone by two late goals from Northwestern (14-5).

"This was just disappointing," head coach Meredith Civico said. "We just weren't able to execute under pressure in the final 10 minutes of the game and get the outcome that we wanted. We have a lot of young players that have seen significant minutes this year and really stepped up. This is a good lesson for them about what tournament play is like that they can take moving forward."

Three underclassmen scored for the Scarlet Knights – freshmen Kassidy Shetler and Gianna Mancini, along with sophomore Austyn Cuneo. Freshman goalkeeper Gianna Glatz made four saves on the day. Northwestern outshot RU 17-6 and held a 10-6 advantage in penalty corners.

The Scarlet Knights got on the board first with a goal just over five minutes into the game. Austyn Cuneo sent a long ball into the circle that the Northwestern goalkeeper kicked aside, and Kassidy Shetler got to the loose ball, sliding it into the net.

The Wildcats responded with a quick flurry later in the half, scoring twice just three minutes apart. The first goal came off of a penalty corners. Northwestern's first shot attempt hit the crossbar, but the ricochet was deflected out of the air an in.

Another corner led to another goal 3:20 later. That tally gave the home team a 2-1 advantage, which they would take into intermission.

In the first half Northwestern outshot Rutgers 9-2.Glatz made three saves in the opening frame.

Halfway through the second half, the Scarlet Knights equalized. Nikki Profita inserted a corner, which went to Gianna Mancini. The freshman took a shot that deflected off a Wildcat defender and into the net.  

With nine minutes remaining in regulation, the Scarlet Knights took their first lead of the game, taking advantage of a penalty corner. The ball found Daphne Groothuis, who slid a pass across to Cuneo. The sophomore launched one into the back of the cage, putting Rutgers in front 3-2.

However, a quick flurry from Northwestern flipped the script and gave the Wildcats their victory. The home side capitalized on two penalty corners in the final four minutes of the game, scoring twice for a 4-3 final advantage. With just 3:35 remaining in the game, Puck Pentenga equalized with a score. Then, with just 1:49 left on the clock, Pascale Massey managed to get a stick on the ball with her back to the net, and deflected it in for the game-winning tally.

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