Friday, November 3
Ann Arbor, Mich.
3:30 PM
Rutgers University
vs
University of Maryland
No. 5 Field Hockey Plays No. 8 Maryland in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
Nov 03 | Field Hockey
Scarlet Knights Set for 3:30 PM Semifinal Matchup on Big Ten Network
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 5 ranked and No. 2 seed Rutgers field hockey is back at it on Friday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (16-2 overall) face No. 3 seed and No. 8 ranked Maryland (15-4 overall) in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals. The game will take place at 3:30 p.m. and be nationally televised on Big Ten Network, with Jack Kizer (play-by-play) and Kara Lentz (analyst) on the broadcast call.
Rutgers advanced to the Semifinals after a 1-0 victory on Thursday over No. 16 ranked and No. 7 seed Michigan, the hosts for the week for the Tournament at Ocker Field. The Scarlet Knights received a goal late in the fourth quarter, as Paulina Niklaus put home a shot from a corner with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth. Niklaus, a Second Team All-Big Ten selection, has three goals this season, and is on a three-game goal scoring streak currently.
Sophia Howard had her sixth shutout of the season as RU made the 1-0 margin stand up for the team's eighth victory this season by a margin of one goal. Howard now boasts a 1.16 goals-against-average and .765 save percentage.
RU also claimed its seventh ranked win of the season. Over the last three seasons, RU has downed 25 ranked teams, representing 58 percent of their wins in that span.
Rutgers' 16th win is the second most wins ever in a season for the program. Only the 2021 team (19) won more games.
The victory over Michigan was RU's fourth ever Big Ten Tournament victory. A member of the league since 2014, when they played in their first ever Big Ten Tournament also at Michigan's Ocker Field, Rutgers had only previously won a Big Ten Tournament game on its home field, as the Scarlet Knights went 3-0 at Bauer Field in Piscataway en route to the 2021 Big Ten Tournament crown. With the win over Michigan, Rutgers improved to 4-8 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament in nine appearances.
Rutgers is 1-2 all-time against 3-Seeds in the Tournament, downing No. 3 seed Penn State in the fall of 2021, and losing to a 3-seed Northwestern in Spring 2021 and 2022.
Maryland earned a 2-0 win over No. 6 seed Iowa in the third Quarterfinal matchup of the day Thursday. The Terps outshot the Hawkeyes 16-9 and had goals from Hope Rose and Sammy Popper. With the win, Maryland, the 2015 and 2018 Big Ten Tournament winners, improved to 13-7 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament and are making their eighth semifinal appearance.
The Terps had six all-conference honorees, led by First Team selections Hope Rose (13 goals to lead the team) and Ryne Wright (senior captain at back). In goal, freshman Alyssa Klebasko has a 0.90 goals-against-average and .848 save percentage.
Rutgers and Maryland met earlier this season on September 28 at Rutgers, RU's second Big Ten game of the year and Maryland's first. The Scarlet Knights earned their highest ranked victory of the season with a 3-2 win over the Terps after a penalty shootout. Julianne Kopec and Guillermina Causarano scored goals during regulation in a game that RU held advantages in shots (18-11) and corners (10-5). In the shootout, RU scored on three of its first four attempts, while halting the Terps on three of their four shots.
The victory was RU's fifth win ever against Maryland and are 2-1 in the last three meetings with Maryland. The Terps are 35-5-1 all-time in the series. The Scarlet Knights earned a historic win in the 2021 meeting with the program's first win over the Terps since 1998. The victory was the first win for Rutgers' head coach Meredith Civico against the school she won a national championship for in 2005 and marked RU's first victory over Maryland since 1998, the final Big Ten foe for RU to defeat since joining the league
Since the spring 2021 season, RU is 28-16 overall against Big Ten teams (including conference tournament games and games not counting towards the conference standings in the spring '21. Since the start of 2018, Rutgers has a 76-36 overall record (.682 winning percentage), 38 ranked wins, 13 top-10 wins and five top-five wins. In that time they've made two NCAA Tournaments, including a Big Ten Tournament championship and Elite Eight appearance.
Rutgers at Big Ten Tournament
2014: 3-0 Loss to 2-Seed Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2015: Did not qualify
2016: 3-1 Loss to 1-Seed Maryland (College Park, Md.)
2017: 4-3 Loss to 4-Seed Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.) – round one on campus sites
2018: 1-0 Loss (2OT) to No. 4-Seed Ohio State – round one on campus sites
2019: 3-1 Loss to No. 3-Seed Northwestern (State College, Pa.)
Spring 2021: 2-1 Loss to No. 3-Seed Northwestern (Iowa City, Iowa)
Fall 2021: Big Ten Tournament Champions (Piscataway, N.J.)
3-1 Win over No. 7 seed Indiana
2-1 Win over No. 3 seed Penn State
1-0 Win over No. 4 seed Michigan
2022: 2-1 Loss to 3-seed Northwestern (Columbus, Ohio)
2023: 1-0 Win over 7-Seed Michigan
What a Win Would Mean for Rutgers:
Rutgers advanced to the Semifinals after a 1-0 victory on Thursday over No. 16 ranked and No. 7 seed Michigan, the hosts for the week for the Tournament at Ocker Field. The Scarlet Knights received a goal late in the fourth quarter, as Paulina Niklaus put home a shot from a corner with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth. Niklaus, a Second Team All-Big Ten selection, has three goals this season, and is on a three-game goal scoring streak currently.
Sophia Howard had her sixth shutout of the season as RU made the 1-0 margin stand up for the team's eighth victory this season by a margin of one goal. Howard now boasts a 1.16 goals-against-average and .765 save percentage.
RU also claimed its seventh ranked win of the season. Over the last three seasons, RU has downed 25 ranked teams, representing 58 percent of their wins in that span.
Rutgers' 16th win is the second most wins ever in a season for the program. Only the 2021 team (19) won more games.
The victory over Michigan was RU's fourth ever Big Ten Tournament victory. A member of the league since 2014, when they played in their first ever Big Ten Tournament also at Michigan's Ocker Field, Rutgers had only previously won a Big Ten Tournament game on its home field, as the Scarlet Knights went 3-0 at Bauer Field in Piscataway en route to the 2021 Big Ten Tournament crown. With the win over Michigan, Rutgers improved to 4-8 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament in nine appearances.
Rutgers is 1-2 all-time against 3-Seeds in the Tournament, downing No. 3 seed Penn State in the fall of 2021, and losing to a 3-seed Northwestern in Spring 2021 and 2022.
Maryland earned a 2-0 win over No. 6 seed Iowa in the third Quarterfinal matchup of the day Thursday. The Terps outshot the Hawkeyes 16-9 and had goals from Hope Rose and Sammy Popper. With the win, Maryland, the 2015 and 2018 Big Ten Tournament winners, improved to 13-7 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament and are making their eighth semifinal appearance.
The Terps had six all-conference honorees, led by First Team selections Hope Rose (13 goals to lead the team) and Ryne Wright (senior captain at back). In goal, freshman Alyssa Klebasko has a 0.90 goals-against-average and .848 save percentage.
Rutgers and Maryland met earlier this season on September 28 at Rutgers, RU's second Big Ten game of the year and Maryland's first. The Scarlet Knights earned their highest ranked victory of the season with a 3-2 win over the Terps after a penalty shootout. Julianne Kopec and Guillermina Causarano scored goals during regulation in a game that RU held advantages in shots (18-11) and corners (10-5). In the shootout, RU scored on three of its first four attempts, while halting the Terps on three of their four shots.
The victory was RU's fifth win ever against Maryland and are 2-1 in the last three meetings with Maryland. The Terps are 35-5-1 all-time in the series. The Scarlet Knights earned a historic win in the 2021 meeting with the program's first win over the Terps since 1998. The victory was the first win for Rutgers' head coach Meredith Civico against the school she won a national championship for in 2005 and marked RU's first victory over Maryland since 1998, the final Big Ten foe for RU to defeat since joining the league
Since the spring 2021 season, RU is 28-16 overall against Big Ten teams (including conference tournament games and games not counting towards the conference standings in the spring '21. Since the start of 2018, Rutgers has a 76-36 overall record (.682 winning percentage), 38 ranked wins, 13 top-10 wins and five top-five wins. In that time they've made two NCAA Tournaments, including a Big Ten Tournament championship and Elite Eight appearance.
Rutgers at Big Ten Tournament
2014: 3-0 Loss to 2-Seed Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2015: Did not qualify
2016: 3-1 Loss to 1-Seed Maryland (College Park, Md.)
2017: 4-3 Loss to 4-Seed Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.) – round one on campus sites
2018: 1-0 Loss (2OT) to No. 4-Seed Ohio State – round one on campus sites
2019: 3-1 Loss to No. 3-Seed Northwestern (State College, Pa.)
Spring 2021: 2-1 Loss to No. 3-Seed Northwestern (Iowa City, Iowa)
Fall 2021: Big Ten Tournament Champions (Piscataway, N.J.)
3-1 Win over No. 7 seed Indiana
2-1 Win over No. 3 seed Penn State
1-0 Win over No. 4 seed Michigan
2022: 2-1 Loss to 3-seed Northwestern (Columbus, Ohio)
2023: 1-0 Win over 7-Seed Michigan
What a Win Would Mean for Rutgers:
- 2nd ever Big Ten Tournament Championship appearance
- Eighth ranked win this season
- 3rd Top-10 Win this season
- 6th ever win over Maryland (including two straight and three of the past four)
Players Mentioned
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/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
M
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M
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