PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 19 Rutgers field hockey is back home this weekend for a pair of Big Ten Conference games. The Scarlet Knights will host No. 23 Ohio State on Friday at 3 pm, then welcome in No. 8 Michigan on Sunday at noon.

Both games this weekend will feature live streams on B1G+, with Dom Savino and Marybeth Freeman on the call. Friday will be the team's annual Pride Game, featuring mini pride flags and stickers as giveaways. On Sunday, RU will host the Stick it to Cancer Game, with a pink shoelace giveaway.

Rutgers enters the weekend having won five of its past six games. After starting the season with just five goals in the initial five games, RU scored eight times last weekend in a 2-0 weekend. Starting with Friday, RU will play ranked opponents in seven of its next eight games, with six of those opponents being ranked No. 11 in the nation or higher in this week's poll. 

On Friday, the Scarlet Knights won their Big Ten Conference opener in dramatic fashion. RU travelled out to East Lansing to battle with Michigan State and earned a comeback victory. After an early goal by Indy van Ek, RU fell behind 2-1 in the fourth quarter. Then it was Puck Winter coming through with her first collegiate goal to tie the game and send it to overtime. After Winter had a crucial defensive save in OT to keep the game alive, Iris Langejans scored the game-winning goal on an overtime penalty stroke.

Then on Sunday, it was a dramatic 5-4 win over Delaware. RU had four different goal scorers, with Bridy Molyneaux leading the way with the team's first multi-goal game of the season, as the Scarlet Knights overcame a 3-2 halftime deficit for the victory. The five goals were the most goals in one game by RU in one game since posting five goals against Richmond in the second game of last season, a 28-game span.

RU also earned two different award recognitions this week. Puck Winter earned the team's first Big Ten weekly award of the season, as she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Additionally, Winter, along with Lucy Bannatyne, Guillermina Causarano and Iris Langejans were named to the NFHCA Collegiate Watch List, which identifies top talent for potential national season ending accolades.

Ohio State enters the game at 3-3, having opened the season with a 3-0 mark, but currently enduring a three-game losing streak that includes two losses to ranked foes. Hallie Brost leads the team with three goals, while OSU has five total players with multiple goals on the year. In goal, Abby Danson boasts a 0.87 goals-against average that is third nationally, and is fourth nationally with a .844 save percentage, leading the league in both categories.

RU holds a 7-6 lead in the all-time series against Ohio State and enters this contest with a four-game winning streak against the Buckeyes. Last season, RU claimed a 3-1 victory in Columbus behind Lucy Bannatyne's first career two-goal game. RU also claimed two wins over OSU in "B1G at the Beach" during the Covid-19 delayed spring 2021 season. As a result of that, this will be Ohio State's first trip to Piscataway since 2018.

Michigan comes into the weekend with a 4-3 record, and a Friday contest ahead of them at No. 3 Maryland. The Wolverines have a ranked win over No. 20 Wake Forest on the year, and all three losses have come to teams ranked in the top six nationally in that week's ranking. As a team, the Wolverines are sixth nationally this year with 8.14 penalty corners per game. Individually, the team is led by Aby Tamer's six goals and 14 points. The team also returns a two-time All-American in midfielder Kathryn Peterson. In goal, Anna Spieker enters her fifth season as the Wolverines starting goalkeeper and has a 0.92 goals-against-average and a .769 save percentage.

Michigan makes its return to Piscataway for the first time since the Scarlet Knights toppled them at Bauer Field in the championship game of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament. That historic moment for RU saw a 1-0 victory over the No. 2 Wolverines that was RU's highest ranked win in program history. Overall, it's an 11-2 series advantage for UM, with the other RU win coming in the Wolverines' last regular season contest against RU in Piscataway, a 3-0 win for the Scarlet Knights on October 25, 2019 against then-No. 7 ranked UM. After Michigan won the first eight meetings in this series, the last five meetings are now just a 3-2 split for UM.