PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 21 Rutgers field hockey is back home this weekend to finish the regular season with a pair of top 25 matchups. The Scarlet Knights will host No. 3 Penn State on Friday at 3 p.m. a BTN broadcast that will mark the third straight national TV game for the squad. Sunday, RU welcomes No. 19 James Madison on Sunday at 1 p.m., prior to which the program will celebrate Senior Day. On Friday, RU will also honor their favorite professors by recognizing them in the pregame walkout.

RU enters this weekend coming off another heartbreaking loss was decided by one goal to Syracuse 4-3. Rutgers' last four matches have been decided by one goal with them coming out victorious with a historic victory over No. 3 Northwestern. On Sunday, the Scarlet Knights struck first with a goal by Iris Langejans in the second quarter, the only goal in the first half. No. 12 Syracuse scored all four goals in the second half with two in the third and fourth quarters.

Langejans is on a three-game point streak with two goals and two assists in that span and leads the team in points with 14 on the season. Indy van Ek has scored a goal in three straight games, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades for the second time in three weeks. She leads the team with five goals on the season.

What a win over Penn State would mean:

• Fifth ranked win of the season
• Second top-3 win of the season (previously: No. 3 Northwestern)
• Four Big Ten Conference wins, the fifth straight season going at least .500 in conference play
• Fifth straight win over Penn State, the second longest active winning streak over a Big Ten foe (seven straight wins over Michigan State)

On Sunday, RU will celebrate a six-member senior class in a pregame ceremony: Annie Walsh, Amanda Beck, Isabella Mancini, Rachel Houston, Maggie Lamb and Carly Snarski.
Penn State enters the matchup 14-2 and won their last six games. Sophia Gladieux leads the team with 20 goals, which is tied for first in the NCAA and 43 points on the season, which is fourth in the NCAA. Goalkeeper Brie Barraco ranks in the top 15 in the country with a .775 save percentage and 1.150 goals allowed a game.

Rutgers enters the matchup against Penn State 8-19-3 in the all-time series against the Nittany Lions, but are on a four-game winning streak. In the spring of 2021, with Penn State ranked ninth, RU swept a weekend series with 3-0 and then 1-0 wins. Then last season, RU claimed a 1-0 road win at No. 4 Penn State in the regular season, and then defeated PSU 2-1 in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals.

James Madison comes into this weekend with a 10-6 record with four ranked wins, most recently against No. 13 Wake Forest. The Dukes are on a two-game win streak with wins over Cal and UC Davis.

Eveline Zwager and Diede Remijnse lead the team in goals with 10 on the season. Zwager also has seven assists making her total points 27 on the season, which leads the team.

The Scarlet Knights are 3-1-1 against James Madison and won their last two matchups, most recently winning 2-1 at home in 2014.

Rutgers can finish as high as fourth in the Big Ten and as low as seventh in the Big Ten, with the weekend starting with five teams entering with either 4-3 or 3-4 records in conference play. A best-case scenario for RU with a win over Penn State would see a three-way tie with Northwestern (who RU beat) and Michigan. The Scarlet Knights are guaranteed a spot in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, and will head to Columbus, Ohio next week. Action will start on Thursday with a quarterfinal matchup on B1G+, with RU playing at either 11 a.m., 2 p.m. or 5 p.m.

Semifinal matchups will take place on Friday, Nov. 4. After an off day, the championship game will be played Sunday, Nov. 6. Thursday's quarterfinal games will be streamed live via B1G+, while the semifinals and finals will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Every televised game on the Big Ten Network can be streamed nationwide via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices on the FOX Sports app.

Last year as hosts of the conference tournament, RU won the tournament to claim the first ever Big Ten Tournament title in Rutgers athletics program history.