PISCATAWAY, N.J. – A history making season for No. 1 Rutgers field hockey came to a close in the NCAA Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon, as the team fell to No. 9 Liberty, 3-2. The game was a back-and-forth battle throughout in front of a strong home crowd, taking a penalty shootout to ultimately decide the winner.

Despite the tough ending, the season will be remembered among the legends of the Rutgers field hockey program. Overall, Rutgers went 19-4, far surpassing the program's record for wins in a season, while also defeating 13 ranked teams, five of them in the top-10. The team made its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance lifetime and earned its third ever NCAA Tournament victory with a First Round win over Delaware on Friday.

"The team played hard and that is what tournament hockey is like," head coach Meredith Civico said. "Every game is tight and every team is a quality one. I'm just really proud of grateful for these players, especially the seniors that returned for an extra year for what they've done to put our program in this position. To be a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament when four years ago we were just clawing to get in. Being the first Big Ten Tournament champions here at Rutgers, having the most wins in a season, most ranked wins in a season, this team has made history. They've had a tremendous amount of success. It didn't break our way in this game, but that doesn't take away what we've accomplished."

The Scarlet Knights received goals from Milena Redlingshoefer and Gianna Mancini. Both goals came in the third quarter to give RU a 2-1 advantage, but the Flames battled back, tying the game late and clinching it in a penalty shootout.

Liberty scored first in the opening quarter. After a corner, the Flames initial shot was blocked. Following that, a pass was sent into the circle where it was redirected to the back post for a goal.

That 1-0 advantage held into halftime, but RU came out with a flurry in the third quarter. First, RU was granted a penalty stroke, and Milena Redlingshoefer stepped to the spot and buried a shot. With the marker, she improved to 7-of-7 on penalty stroke attempts on the season.

Then, just three minutes later, RU scored again. Gianna Mancini took a shot from the goalkeeper's right side that deflected off the stick of a back and into the net.

RU looked to hold that 2-1 through the fourth quarter, but the Flames pressed for an equalizer. With their goalkeeper pulled in favor of an extra field player, Liberty finally broke through in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. A shot deflected up and then into the net, evening the score at 2-2.

The game went into overtime, with the teams playing seven aside to seek an ending. The Scarlet Knights pressed hard in overtime, earning three penalty corners in the second overtime frame, but couldn't get the ball into the net.

Ultimately, the game went into a battle of penalty strokes. In that matchup, Liberty outpaced RU 4-2 to take the win and advance to the Final Four.  

"Everything we've done to this point has been so meaningful," Katie Larmour said. "Our goal was to be Big Ten champions and we accomplished that. Regardless of this result and this season's ending, no one will ever take that away from us. It's such a testament to what this team and staff have done here. We can't forget that we made history as Big Ten champions. There's still history to be made and it's only up from here for this program. I'm so proud of all these girls."

Postgame Notes

• Milena Redlingshoefer finished the season as the team's leader in assists (12) and points (28), while tying Lucy Bannatyne for the lead in goals (eight).
  • Redlingshoefer's 12 assists were the fifth most in a single-season in program history while her 28 points were the 10^th most.
  • She stands 12^th all-time at RU with 53 career points.
• Gianna Mancini scored her fifth goal of the season, tying her career-best (previously set in 2017).
• Gianna Glatz finished her career with a goals-against-average of 1.40, fourth best in program history.