PISCATAWAY, N.J – Rutgers field hockey will count on upperclassman leadership this season. Seniors Austyn Cuneo and Alanna Gollotto will serve as captains, while Kerrie Burns, Gianna Glatz and Katie Larmour will join them on the team's leadership council.
 
Gollotto enters her senior season having started all 54 games in her Rutgers career. Transitioning to forward last season, she scored three goals and added four assists for 10 points.
 
"Alanna is a really solid leader on the field off the field," head coach Meredith Civico said. She's worked incredibly hard to be in a leadership role in her final year here at Rutgers. She's somebody that the players can really depend on and the coaches can really depend on as well."
 
A redshirt senior, Cuneo enters her third season 'On the Banks'. She has started all 37 games, recording 11 goals and seven assists for 29 points. The Waterford Works, N.J. native is the team's leading returning scorer.
 
"Austyn is a great player," Civico exclaimed. "She understands the game and she communicates the game really well on the field. I think she's a fantastic on-field leader."
 
A trio of juniors rounds out the leadership council. Burns is a two-year starter from Ireland in the team's backfield. Glatz, a Medford, N.J. native, excelled in her sophomore season as the team's goalkeeper, earning First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-Region honors. Larmour, also an Ireland native, returns after taking an injury redshirt last season, previously starting 28 games and earning Second Team All-Region accolades as a freshman.
 
"This leadership group is very balanced," Civico said. "We will count on their experience to guide our team this year."
 
Gollotto and Cuneo represent two of a four-member senior class that also includes Emily Howarth and Amanda Lamb. The leadership group contains three of the team's six juniors, giving the program strong leadership and representation among the more seasoned players.
 
"The team has been coming together really well," Cuneo said. "We have a core group of us serving as our leadership group. Knowing that we have a lot of upperclassman experience, that is very helpful, and the freshmen have done a great job already coming in and adjusting to our team."
 
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