PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 8 Rutgers field hockey begins postseason play on Wednesday night, as the Scarlet Knights will take on No. 5 Northwestern at 7:30 p.m., hosted by the University of Iowa. The game will be broadcast to a national audience on Big Ten Network, with Dean Linke and Kara Lentz on the call.

Rutgers finished with a 5-3 conference recording, resulting in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings. Following tiebreakers, Rutgers earned the No. 6 seed for the conference tournament, and will face the third-seeded Wildcats. With a victory on Wednesday, RU would face the winner of No. 2 seeded Penn State (5-2 conference record) and No. 7 Ohio State (2-5 conference record). The semifinals would also be played at 7:30 p.m., Thursday night on BTN.

This will be the second straight season that Rutgers and Northwestern will meet in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wildcats claimed a 3-1 victory in that contest. RU is looking for its first ever Big Ten Conference Tournament victory in its fifth appearance (and third time facing Northwestern).

Rutgers enters the contest at 9-5 overall. The team was nationally ranked in the top-12 in the country in all six coaches polls this season. Rutgers earned four top-10 wins, topping No. 9 Penn State and No. 4 Northwestern twice apiece. RU went 6-0 at home, the first time the program was unbeaten at home since 1976.

This week, Rutgers earned four all-conference selections this week from the Big Ten. Gianna Glatz was the lone goalkeeper on the first team, joining midfielder Katie Larmour. Kerrie Burns and Milena Redlingshoefer were named Second Team All-Big Ten.

Head coach Meredith Civico earned her first career Big Ten Co-Coach of the year award after guiding the ascent of the Scarlet Knight program. Under her leadership, Rutgers has gone 32-19 overall in the past three seasons, with a 13-11 conference record in that span in the nation's top league. Over that span, RU has defeated 13 ranked foes, including eight top-10 wins, signaling the continued improvement of the program.

On the year, Rutgers outscored opponents 25-13. Glatz posted a career-best 1.41 goals-against-average in the cage. Redlingshoefer led the team with six goals and 17 points. Larmour led the team with seven assists and was second with 11 points, while Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree Liz Romano was second on the team with five goals.

The Wildcats enter the matchup at 10-4 on the year, following a two-game sweep of No. 2 Iowa last weekend. Bente Baekers led the team with 10 goals and 25 points, while Maddie Zimmer was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Two weeks ago, Rutgers swept then No. 4 Northwestern in a two-game set, winning 2-1 and then 3-2 in overtime. Katie Larmour scored the game winning goal in the Sunday game, while Liz Romano scored in both contests to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. After such, the all-time series is 5-3 in Northwestern's favor.

The postseason starts Wednesday with six Big Ten teams ranked in the top-14 of the NFHCA Coaches Poll. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is at 10 p.m. this Saturday.