PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers field hockey begins the 2018 season on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. home game against Richmond. The game will feature a giveaway of the 2018 season t-shirt.

Rutgers graduated just one starter, and returns every goal scorer from last season, along with its entire defense. Sophomore Daphne Groothuis led the team with 22 points last season and she shared the team lead in goals (seven) with senior captain Linde van Schaik. Also returning is 2017 all-region selection Austyn Cuneo, who scored five goals and added five assists last season.

Gianna Glatz will return for her sophomore season as the goalkeeper. After posting a 2.23 goals-against-average last season, she spent the summer in the USA Field Hockey U-21 Junior National Training Camp. Glatz, Groothuis and van Schaik were all selected as Preseason Players to Watch by the Big Ten Conference.

The Spiders were picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 in the preseason coaches' poll. Senior captain Olivia Hubert, their leading returning point scorer (four goals, five assists), was named preseason all-conference. Also returning for UR are all-conference goalkeeper Felicitas Heinzel and all-conference defenders Amanda DaSilva and Becky Carter. After an 8-11 campaign last season, the team must replace their top three point-scorers. Richmond will open their 2018 campaign on Friday, when they play at American.  

"I'm really excited to play Richmond in the opener," head coach Meredith Civico said. "They have a new coach, Jamie Montgomery, who I know very well. She's really going to change that program. I expect them to play with a lot of energy, a lot of passion. I expect them to battle and be a hard working team. I think it's a really good opening game for us. I think they'll employ some new tactics, we're not sure exactly what to expect in terms of shapes and strategies, but I know they will be a team that will just battle."

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