PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 1 Rutgers field hockey is moving on in the NCAA Tournament, having defeated Delaware in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. After capturing the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 1986, the Scarlet Knights moved on to play Sunday. The host of the Piscataway Regional, RU will host No. 9 Liberty on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Tickets are available to the general public for $5. You can purchase tickets
here. There will be a limited stream available on B1G+. Usually a subscription service, the Elite Eight game will be streamed for free
here. There will also be a live radio broadcast via
WRSU, 88.7 FM.
"It's one game at a time for us and Delaware was game one," Civico said. "That's our approach to Sunday. We'll debrief, recover, and prepare for our next game on Sunday."
The Scarlet Knights, making their fourth ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and playing in the NCAAs for the first time since 2018, are 3-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. On Friday, playing through the pouring rain, the Scarlet Kngihts gritted out a defensive-led effort for the victory. RU was led by goals from
Liz Romano and
Lucy Bannatyne, while
Milena Redlingshoefer had two assists.
Gianna Glatz made four saves.
Rutgers enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 19-3, a program record for victories in a season. The win over the No. 17 Delaware was the 13th ranked win of the season, and saw RU improve to 19-1 in its last 20 home games. The crowds at Bauer have been exceptional over the past few weeks, with 638 fans braving the elements on Friday to watch the team win its First Round game.
Led by head coach
Meredith Civico, the Scarlet Knights have had a sensational season. The host of the Piscataway regional features the best goalkeeper in the nation in
Gianna Glatz, as well as key defenders in Big Ten Tournament MVP
Kerrie Burns, who from her defensive midfield position communicates successfully with the starting backline of
Liz Romano,
Milena Redlingshoefer and
Iris Langejans. The group forms the core of RU's identity, a squad known for its identity as a gritty program trying to take this season to new heights.
The Rutgers program has been the best story in collegiate field hockey this season. Hosting the Big Ten Championship, the team completed a magical run through the Big Ten, capturing wins over Indiana, No. 7 Penn State and No. 2 Michigan, all in four days, to win the league's automatic bid and No. 1 overall seed.
Liberty is 18-2 overall this season, defeating UConn to capture the first ever BIG EAST Tournament championship in program history for the affiliate member. The team set a program record for victories and makes its first NCAA appearance since 2014. The Flames took down No. 11 St. Joe's in the other NCAA Regional game Friday in Piscataway. This will be the first ever meeting for the two programs.
