PISCATAWAY, N.J. - A huge game is on tap this weekend for No. 5 Rutgers field hockey, as the Scarlet Knights face another top-five foe, taking on No. 4 Penn State this Friday on the road. The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend at 9-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten.

RU moved up one spot in the national poll into the top-five following a 1-1 weekend. On Friday, they pushed No. 1 Iowa to the limit, falling 2-1 in a game where they led in shots and corners, but just couldn't find a late equalizer to answer a pair of early Hawkeyes goals. On Sunday, Rutgers dominated play against Indiana, with a 16-3 advantage in shots and 13-3 in corners. Gianna Mancini scored a late goal off a Lucy Bannatyne assist in the waning seconds of double-overtime to provide RU with a 1-0 win.

For her efforts, Bannatyne was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. RU has also seen Iris Langejans and Guillermina Causarano earn weekly freshman accolades from the Big Ten this season. The trio of freshman have each started the last nine games (with Bannatyne and Langejans starting all 11 games overall) to provide the Scarlet Knights with an influx of newcomer talent.

Offensively, RU has a quartet of players sharing the team lead with four goals on the season: Milena Redlingshoefer, Kerrie Burns, Gianna Mancini and Lucy Bannatyne. Mancini has scored three goals in the last four games. Redlingshoefer has added eight assists, giving her the team lead with 16 points, and is the Big Ten's leader at 0.73 assists per game. Redlingshoefer's 19 career assists are 9th most all-time, one short of 8th place (Alyssa Bull) and two short of seventh. She is one point away from tying her previous career-high. 

Defensively, Gianna Glatz has backstopped RU with a 1.07 goals-against-average, ranking 11th in the nation. RU has outscored opponents 26-13 on the year. Glatz has 306 career saves, seventh all-time at RU and just eight away from tying for sixth. 

On the season, RU has downed seven ranked foes, including five on the road, both representing program records.

Penn State enters Friday's contest with a record of 8-2 overall and is 3-1 in the league. The Nittany Lions downed Indiana (4-1) and Northwestern (2-1 in double-overtime) last weekend. The team is led offensively by Sophia Gladieux (10 goals, 22 points), Anna Simon (eight goals, 18 points) and Mackenze Allessie (five goals, seven assists). In goal, Brie Barraco holds a .729 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average. 

Penn State leads the all-time series 19-6-3. Rutgers won the last two meetings in the series, sweeping a weekend series last April. The team's Friday victory, a 3-0 win over then No. 9 Penn State, was RU's first victory over Penn State since 1985. 

Rutgers and Penn State represent two of the six Big Ten teams ranked in the Big Ten. The top league in the nation, the Big Ten's teams will descend upon Piscataway from November 4-7 for the Big Ten Tournament. Tickets are on sale now.