COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 3 Rutgers field hockey claimed another ranked road victory on a rainy Sunday afternoon, claiming a 3-1 victory at No. 21 Ohio State. A pair of New Zealand natives produced the goal scoring for RU. Freshman
Lucy Bannatyne had her first career two-goal game, while
Tayla Parkes had the other tally. The Scarlet Knights improved to 13-3 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play with the victory, tying the program's record for Big Ten wins in a season.
Gianna Glatz made four saves for the Scarlet Knights. RU had the advantage in shots (9-6) and penalty corners (4-2).
Rutgers got onto the scoreboard early, scoring just three minutes into the game. RU capitalized on an OSU turnover in their defensive zone, allowing
Lucy Bannatyne to go one-on-one with the OSU goalkeeper. The freshman used her speed to create an opening and finish a reverse backhand shot.
However, the Buckeyes had a quick answer. OSU tied the game just over two minutes later, finishing off a shot in front to even the game at 1-1. That score would remain with the deadlock extending into halftime, at which point RU led in shots (4-2) and corners (2-0).
Late in the third quarter, Rutgers went in front on a goal from
Tayla Parkes. After Parkes inserted a penalty corner, the ball was sent back to her, where she redirected it in for the tally.
In the fourth quarter, Bannatyne added her second goal of the game to ice the victory. With OSU's goalkeeper pulled for an extra attacker, she carried the ball into the circle and fired across for the finish to clinch the win.
Rutgers returns home for the final home games of the regular season, hosting Michigan State (Friday) and Lafayette (Sunday) next weekend. Following that is the Big Ten Tournament, November 4-7 in Piscataway.
"We played really well throughout the whole game," Bannatyne said in a postgame interview broadcast live on Big Ten Network. "We started off with an early goal and then added another on a really great touch from Tayla on a straight strike from Katie. That helped put us ahead at 2-1 and then finishing it off with the third goal was just icing on the cake."
The victory over No. 21 Ohio State represented:
- The fifth Big Ten win of the season, tying for the most for the Scarlet Knights since joining the league in 2014-15.
- Rutgers' 10th ranked win this season (No. 3 Northwestern, No. 4 Penn State, No. 6 UConn, No. 8 Maryland, No. 12 Duke, No. 16 Syracuse, No. 17 Princeton, No. 20 Monmouth, No. 21 Ohio State, No. 22 Delaware).
- Rutgers' seventh ranked win this season (No. 3 Northwestern, No. 4 Penn State, No. 6 UConn, No. 12 Duke, No. 17 Princeton, No. 21 Ohio State, No. 22 Delaware).
- Rutgers' evened the all-time series with OSU at 6-6, and has won three straight contests versus the Buckeyes.
Postgame Notables:
- The two goals were Bannatyne's fifth and sixth of the season, tying her for the team lead.
- That marked the most goals for a RU true freshman since 2017.
- Rutgers' two goal scorers in this game mark the only players to have two-goal games this season. Tayla Parkes also scored twice against Richmond in the second games of the season on August 28th, the only previous two-goal game for RU this season prior to Bannatyne's two goals today.
