PISCATAWAY, N.J – No. 19 Rutgers field hockey had a dominating performance to earn a ranked win in its season opener, defeating No. 24 Maine 3-0.

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KEY STATS

• Austyn Cuneo scored two goals and had an assist for a game-high five points
• Kerrie Burns had a goal and an assist.
• Emily Howarth and Tayla Parkes each added an assist.
• Gianna Glatz made three saves for the shutout.
• Rutgers outshot Maine 23-5, putting 14 of those shots on goal to Maine's three.
• Rutgers had an 11-4 advantage in corners.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rutgers took control of the game from the outset, with Burns scoring the game's first goal just over two minutes in. Cueno took the initial shot and Burns redirected it to give RU the lead for good. Later in the opening quarter, Cuneo ripped a shot that ricocheted off the inside of the post and in to give the Scarlet Knights a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes of action.

Late in the first half, Cuneo tallied her second of the day, taking a feed from Burns and firing one in for the goal. The Scarlet Knights held control of the game from there, with no scoring in the second half leading to the 3-0 final margin.
 

QUOTABLE

"I'm really pleased that the team was able to get the win today. That was a focus point of ours, to start the season on a front-foot, aggressive mindset. We were the first ones to the ball and made a statement in the first five minutes of the game. We had really high energy and an attacking mentality. I thought our play in the first two quarters was really great. We needed to make some adjustments in the third quarter, and we discussed that after the game. But overall, I'm really happy about this performance."

• Rutgers Head Coach Meredith Civico

 

NOTABLE

• Austyn Cuneo had her fourth collegiate multi-goal game.  
• Tayla Parkes had her first career assist.
• Glatz has now been a part of 13 shutouts in her career.
• Burns had the first game-winning goal of her career and had a career-high three points.  
• Making her Rutgers debut, Clayre Smith had her first collegiate start.
• Freshmen Amanda Beck, Rachel Houston, Maggie Lamb, Isabella Mancini and Annie Walsh made their collegiate debuts.  
• Rutgers now leads the all-time series over Maine 4-3.

 

UP NEXT

Rutgers will have another home game on Saturday, when they will host Ball State at 1 p.m. 
 

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