PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey continued to get great contributions from its newcomers, and three freshmen combined for seven goals in a 9-0 defeat of Towson (0-1) on Saturday afternoon. Freshmen Daphne Groothuis had three goals, while classmates Gracey Butsack and Gianna Mancini each tallied twice. Junior captain Linde van Schaik also scored twice for the Scarlet Knights. With the victory, Rutgers finished its opening weekend with a 2-0 record, outscoring its opponents by a combined 13-1 margin.

"It was great to have so many different goal scorers today, especially so many freshmen," head coach Meredith Civico said. "We wanted to come into this game and focus on some things that we needed to work on. Goal scoring has been a major focus of ours through the preseason. To get so many players contributing is a real positive heading in to next weekend. The team can take a lot of confidence from this opening weekend."

RU outshot Towson 34-5 in the game and held an 8-2 advantage in penalty corners. Freshmen Gianna Glatz played the first half between the pipes, and Amanda Lamb and Katie Beilin split the second half for a combined four-save shutout.

Groothuis started the scoring off a corner in the eighth minute. Manicini followed that with a goal, and just seconds later Groothuis' second tally of the day gave the home squad a three-goal lead after just 15 minutes. Butsack scored a goal just before halftime to give the Scarlet Knights a 4-0 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, van Schaik scored a highlight-reel goal on a turnaround shot. That was followed by another tally apiece by the freshman trio of Mancini, Butsack and Groothuis. Van Schaik added her second goal of the half to cap the scoring and provide the 9-0 final margin.
 
"These freshmen are a really great group," Civico explained. "There is a lot of chemistry between all six freshmen, as well as the two new transfers. They really impressed the coaching staff and their teammates in the preseason. Having so many contributing right off the bat is really exciting, as it allows us to have a much deeper bench and versatile lineup."

 "It's awesome, especially coming in as a freshman and being able to score two goals to help the team," Butsack explained. "I think it definitely boosts our confidence for the rest of the season being able to score goals early and start off 2-0. Hopefully we can keep this winning streak going. We just need to reminder to keep doing the simple things, make simple passes, play smart and play confident.

RU is on the road next weekend. The squad will face Penn on Friday and then has a neutral site matchup with Old Dominion on Sunday in College Park, Md.

Postgame Notes

• Senior Jessica Carey made her first career appearance.
• Carlina Sacco, Amanda Lamb and Katie Beilin made their season debut in the game.
• Emily Howarth and Gracey Butsack made their first career start.
• All 21 players on the roster saw action in the contest.
• This was the fourth multi-goal game of van Schaik's career.
• The nine goals was the most RU has scored since a 13-0 win over Siena last September 18 and the second most goals scored under head coach Meredith Civico.
• Sophomore back Alanna Gollotto had her first career point with an assist.
• Rutgers is now 2-1-1 all-time against Towson.
• On the opening weekend, 11 of the 13 goals RU scored were by newcomers.