PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 3 Rutgers field hockey is back home this weekend for a pair of important home contests. On Friday, the Scarlet Knights have a showdown of two top-10 teams, as RU welcomes in No. 8 Maryland at 3 p.m. On Sunday, Rutgers hosts Columbia for a 1 p.m. game.
Friday will be the program's annual Pride Game, with free pride heart stickers and tabling by LGBTQ+ clubs. Sunday is 90's Day, with free Rutgers fanny packs to the first 100 fans.
The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend having moved up two spots in the national poll to No. 3 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings, the team's highest in program history. RU also enters the weekend in the third spot in the NCAA's RPI rankings as well.
The team moved up following a 1-0 shutout victory on the road last Friday at No. 4 Penn State. The team earned the victory behind the game-winning goal from
Rachel Houston.
Gianna Glatz made a season-high eight saves, pushing her into sixth place all-time at RU. Glatz was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week, her seventh career weekly accolade from the conference. On the season, Glatz holds a 0.97 goals-against-average, which currently represents a career-best for the reigning First Team All-American.
Rutgers enters the weekend at 10-2 overall in 3-1 in Big Ten play. It marks the third time in the past four seasons that RU has recorded double-digit wins. One more win against a league foe will tie the program's record for Big Ten Conference victories in a season. Rutgers has set program records with eight ranked wins, six ranked road winsand three wins over top-10 foes this season.
Offensively,
Milena Redlingshoefer leads the team with eight assists and 16 points.
Kerrie Burns trails her with 11 points. Redlingshoefer and Burns share the team lead in goals with Lucy Banntyne and
Gianna Mancini, all with four tallies. Redlingshoefer leads the conference in assists per game.
Maryland holds a 9-4 overall record, with all the team's losses coming by one goal against a program ranked in the top-10 nationally. The Terps, who saw a streak of 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths end this past spring, are 1-3 in Big Ten play. Bibi Donraadt leads the team with eight goals and six assists for 22 points, followed by Hope Rose with six goals.
Maryland holds a 34-3-1 advantage in the all-time series versus Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights will be looking for the program's first win over the Terps since 1998. A victory for the Scarlet Knights would be the first win for Rutgers' head coach
Meredith Civico against the school she won a national championship for in 2005.
Columbia enters the weekend at 6-4 overall, on a four-game losing skid. Heading into a Friday game against Yale, the Lions are paced by Kelsey Farkas with four goals, four assists and 12 points. Goalkeeper Alexa Conomikes has a 1.83 goals-against-average and .739 save percentage. Rutgers is 6-3 in the all-time series against Columbia, winning the last meeting, which came in 2012.
