PISCATAWAY, N.J – No. 17 Rutgers field hockey will welcome two Big Ten teams this weekend, hosting Michigan State on Friday at 3 p.m., then facing No. 23 Ohio State Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be part of the team's Alumni Weekend. Sunday's contest will be televised nationwide on Big Ten Network with Dan Kelly and Kara Lentz on the call. Fans attending this weekend's games will have the opportunity to pick up a team poster and season t-shirts will be distributed to the first 50 fans at each game. Sunday is also Junior Knights Day. 

The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend at 6-1 overall, and 0-1 in the Big Ten. Recently ranked number nine in the NCAA RPI, Rutgers' start is the best since 2008, when the team started 6-0 and won nine of their first ten games. OSU represents the fourth ranked team RU has faced this season. Holding a 2-1 record so far against ranked teams, Rutgers defeated No. 6 Princeton for the program's highest ever ranked victory, and also downed No. 18 St. Joe's, while falling to No. 10 Michigan.

"We're really looking forward to being at home this weekend, starting Friday against Michigan State," head coach Meredith Civico said. "The team had a disappointing result against Michigan and they're really looking forward to getting our first Big Ten win. We're excited about being home and focusing on a really solid week of training. With Alumni Weekend, I think it's going to be an awesome atmosphere. We've got a lot of people coming back. A lot of people are really excited about the program and how we've done so far this year. We should have a really great home crowd for both games."

Rutgers defense ranks among the best in the nation, as the Scarlet Knights have outscored opponents 22-5 thus far. The Scarlet Knights lead the nation with five shutouts, are third in the country in save percentage (.853) and fourth in the nation in goals-against-average (0.71). Sophomore goalkeeper Gianna Glatz is second in the Big Ten and top-five in the nation in both save percentage (.821) and goals-against-average (0.86).

On the offensive end, Daphne Groothuis leads the team with five goals and six assists for 16 points. She leads the Big Ten and is third in the nation in points assists per game (0.86) and is second in the conference in points per game (2.29). Austyn Cuneo is second on the team with four goals and nine points.

Linde van Schaik enters the weekend with 19 career goals and 51 career points, just outside of Rutgers all-time top-10 in both categories. One point will tie her for 10th place all-time with five different players, most recently done by Rachel Yaney. With one more goal she ties Katie Champion, Cindy Cavallaro and Patricia Bornheimer for 11th all-time, and with two goals will push into a three-way tie for 8th place.

Michigan State enters the week at 4-5 overall, having lost three of the past five, including a 5-1 decision to No. 3 Maryland in their conference opener. Offensively they are led by Isa Van der Weij, with three goals and eight points, while Jade Arundell has played every minute in goal with a 2.06 goals-against-average. MSU has been outscored 20-11. Rutgers is 4-8-1 lifetime against Michigan State, winning 3-2 on the road last season for their first win in the series since 1989.

Ohio State enters the weekend at 4-4, having just dropped two games last weekend to No. 6 Penn State and Miami (Ohio). Esther Clotet Alsina leads them offensively with five goals and 13 points, while Casey Cole also has five goals. In goal, Aaliyah Hernandez has a 1.48 goals-against-average and .688 save percentage. RU is 3-4 lifetime against Ohio State. Since joining the Big Ten, the two teams have alternated wins with a 2-2 overall mark. Last season OSU won 2-0 in New Jersey, while the Scarlet Knights won 3-1 in Columbus in 2016.


 
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