PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 16 Rutgers field hockey (10-6, 4-3 Big Ten) concludes the regular season this Sunday with a road game at Penn State. The Scarlet Knights will take on the Nittany Lions (5-11, 3-4) at noon.
Rutgers enters the game on a four-game winning streak and having won six of their last seven games. RU is on a three-game Big Ten Conference game winning streak for only the second time in program history, and has won four of its past five conference games.
Last weekend, the Scarlet Knights swept two home games again No. 7 Michigan (3-0) and Temple (1-0).
Austyn Cuneo factored into every goal RU scored on the weekend with two goals and two assists, and was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week and NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week.
The Scarlet Knights have now won four games this year over ranked foes, including two top-10 wins. The team has reached double-digit wins for the second straight season. This week, they moved up to a season-high of 16th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings, and are now No. 13 in the RPI.
RU is seeking its fifth Big Ten win of the season. With a win, RU would set a program record for conference wins in a season.
Penn State enters the weekend 5-11 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play. After posting a 12-6 mark in 2018 that included a NCAA Tournament appearance, PSU started this season with seven consecutive losses. Since then, the Nittany Lions are 5-4 in their past nine games.
Offensively, Penn State is led by Anna Simon (eight goals and 18 points). In goal, Brie Barraco has a 2.33 goals-against-average and .675 save percentage.
Penn State leads the all-time series between these two program 18-4-3. Rutgers' last win over PSU came in 1985. RU won three straight in the series from 1984 to 1985, including a win in the NCAA Tournament in 1984 that was Rutgers' first ever NCAA Tournament victory.
Rutgers will return to State College, Pa. next week for the Big Ten Tournament, with the Quarterfinals beginning on Thursday. Entering Friday, RU can be seeded anywhere between third and sixth depending on results this weekend.
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