PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 3 Rutgers field hockey put a stamp on a historic season for the program, defeating Michigan to win the Big Ten Championship. The Scarlet Knights became the first Rutgers program to ever win a Big Ten Tournament championship, and just the second RU program to earn any Big Ten Championship after the women's soccer program won the regular season title this year.
With the victory, Rutgers earns the Big Ten's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. It will be RU's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, previously making it in 1984, 1986 and 2018. The full bracket will be revealed at 10 p.m. on Sunday night. Rutgers entered Sunday ranked No. 1 in the nation in the NCAA's RPI.
The win capped an incredible week as part of an incredible season. Hosting the conference tournament, the Scarlet Knights earned three wins in four days, downing Indiana, No. 7 Penn State and No. 2 Michigan to capture the program's first Big Ten crown. Rutgers improved to 18-3 overall on the season, far surpassing the program's previous record of 15, set in 1986. The Scarlet Knights earned 12 wins overall against ranked teams and six of them against top-10 teams. The win made RU's record at home 16-1 in the last two seasons.
"It's incredible. I'm so proud of this team and this group of players," head coach
Meredith Civico said. "We knew this game was going to be an absolute physical battle. We played 60 minutes of gritty, relentless Rutgers field hockey. It's been such a process and we have great players and great people in our program. We've been building this and working towards this for a long time. To have this season and this group of players who are so talented and so gritty, so committed to the team, is a really special thing. To win this championship at home, at Rutgers, with this team, it doesn't get any better than this."
Tayla Parkes scored the lone goal in the title game. Rutgers' defense was once again incredible, with midfielder
Kerrie Burns and goalkeeper
Gianna Glatz named to the All-Tournament Team.
Kerrie Burns was named the Tournament MVP. Rutgers scored in the first half, with Parkes finishing off a great pass from
Bridy Molyneaux, and then RU held on from there.
"It feels incredible,"
Kerrie Burns said. "It's so great to have Rutgers field hockey get that recognition that the program deserves. We were strong on defense all game, everyone working together to get the win."
"We have worked so hard up to this point,"
Katie Larmour said. "It feels unbelievable. This validates everything that I've stayed here for. All the girls on the team have worked so hard to bring it to this point. It makes all those long hours worthwhile."
"It feels amazing,"
Gianna Glatz said. "It's everything we've worked for over the last five years. We worked so hard for this. It's finally here now and we're living that dream."
Gallery: (11-7-2021) Field Hockey Wins Big Ten Championship
