PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 8 field hockey completed the opening weekend as the hosts of the "Battle on the Banks" Tournament against their second straight ranked opponent on Sunday. Battling against regional rival No. 16 St. Joe's, the Hawks claimed the victory by a 5-0 margin.

After the opening half, the game remained deadlocked. A tightly contested opening half saw just five shots and three penalty corners overall.

In the third quarter, St. Joe's put three goals onto the scoreboard to take control of the game. The Hawks outshot the home team 7-0 in the third frame to take the advantage.

Midway through the third quarter, the Hawks struck first. Capitalizing off a penalty corner, St. Joe's inserted the ball to the top of the circle and fired home the marker for a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, St. Joe's scored again. The Hawks were awarded a penalty stroke following a video review, and Lily Santi stepped to the spot and converted, putting the visitors ahead 2-0. The Hawks had one more tally in the third quarter, as Manu Ghigliotti flicked the ball up over the goalkeeper and Santi banged it in from the back post.

In the fourth quarter, St. Joe's added two more goals on shots from the top off of a penalty corner. The Hawks closed out RU for the 5-0 win. The Hawks had a 12-3 advatnage in shots and 8-2 margin in corners. Sophia Howard made three saves for RU. 

Postgame Notes

• Vicky Jure made her first collegiate start.
• Bridy Molyneaux made her first start of the season

Up Next
Rutgers hosts two more games next week, welcoming in La Salle (Wednesday, 4 p.m.) and UConn (Friday, 2 p.m.)