PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 19 Rutgers field hockey hits the road this weekend for a crucial two-game swing through the Midwest. The Scarlet Knights start the weekend in Ohio at No. 21 Ohio State, then finishing the trip in Michigan to face Michigan State.
Friday:
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Sunday:
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Rutgers enters the weekend at 6-6 and 1-3 in the Big Ten following a conference-weekend split last weekend against Indiana (3-2 win) and Northwestern (4-1 loss) at home. The win against Indiana was keyed by the first career multi-goal game from
Kerrie Burns. The team's losses have all comes against ranked foes, with five of the six coming against top-10 foes. The team holds the sixth best strength of schedule in the nation.
The team ranks third in the Big Ten with a .743 save percentage behind goalkeeper
Gianna Glatz.
Katie Larmour assumed the team lead with her fifth goal of the season last weekend, while
Austyn Cuneo leads in assists (six) and points (14).
The Scarlet Knights have typically played low-scoring affairs this year. RU has outscored opponents 19-18 in 12 games, an average of 1.5 goals per team per game this season.
The Buckeyes enter the matchup with a record that mirrors Rutgers, 6-6 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten. After a 4-1 start, Ohio State is 2-5 in their last seven games, with all of those losses coming against teams ranked in the top-16 in the nation. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series against Rutgers 6-3.
OSU tops the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation in scoring average at 3.5 goals per game, led by Mackenzie Allessie with 12 scores and Alsina Clotet and Nikki Trzaska with seven apiece. In the goal, Aaliyah Hernandez holds a 1.68 goals-against-average and .718 save percentage.
Michigan State enters the weekend at 6-7, but having lost six of their last eight games, and are 0-4 in Big Ten Conference play. The Spartans lead the Big Ten in saves per game (8.69). Jade Arundell is second in the conference with a .757 save percentage while holding a 2.52 goals-against-average. Lia Sinisi leads MSU with six goals, as the Spartans have been outscored 34-21 on the year.
MSU holds an 8-5-1 lead in the all-time series. Last season, Rutgers earned a 5-1 win, its second straight victory in the series.
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