Friday, October 18
Piscataway, N.J.
1 p.m.
Rutgers University
vs
Michigan State
Field Hockey Home for Two Games This Weekend
Oct 16 | Field Hockey
RU Hosts Michigan State (Friday), No. 3 Ohio State (Sunday)
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey returns to action in New Jersey this weekend, hosting two games at the Bauer Complex. Following a three-game road swing through the Midwest, the Scarlet Knights are back home to host Michigan State on Friday (1 pm) and No. 3 Ohio State on Sunday (noon). Rutgers has had recent success against both teams, as RU is looking for its ninth straight win over Michigan State and its seventh straight victory over Ohio State.
Both games will stream on B1G+. Dom Savino will be on play-by-play on Friday, with Eddie Kalegi on play-by-play Sunday. Marybeth Freeman has the analysis for both games.
The weekend will be the program's annual Letterwinners Celebration Weekend, with alumni invited back 'On the Banks' as part of Homecoming weekend on campus. Sunday is the official letterwinners day celebration, with a pregame brunch for alumns and their guests at the Rutgers Club and a pregame on-field recognition. The program will also host a letterwinners tailgate at SHI Stadium for Saturday's homecoming football game against UCLA.
Rutgers enters the weekend looking to halt a three-game skid, standing at 4-7 overall and 1-4 in league play. This weekend will conclude a span of six ranked opponents over eight games. Of RU's losses, five of them have come against teams in the top eight of this week's NFHCA Coaches Poll (No. 2 Northwestern, No. 5 UConn, No. 6 St. Joe's, No. 7 Michigan and No. 8 Maryland), along with No. 15 Princeton and Indiana. After allowing just six goals in the first five games of the season, RU has allowed 20 goals in the past six games.
Guillermina Causarano currently leads the team with 21 points, nine assists, and shares the team lead for goals (six) with Paulina Niklaus. She is fourth in the nation in assists per game (0.82).
Milestone Tracker
Guillermina Causarano has 22 goals in her career, which is eighth most in program history. Two more will tie her with Linde van Schaik for seventh (24 from 2015-18) and three more will tie her with Mary Beth Dwyer for sixth (25 from 1982-85).
Puck Winter has five defensive saves on the season. The Big Ten's leader in defensive saves and last season's NCAA leader in the statistic, Winter has 20 defensive saves in her career, the second most all-time at RU. The all-time leader at RU is Brandi Bailey, who had 24 from 1993-1996.
Bridy Molyneaux has 19 goals in her career. Her next score would make her the 16th RU player with 20 career goals, and just the fifth to notch 20 career goals in the past 15 years.
About Michigan State
Michigan State enters Friday's game at 7-6 overall, but 0-3 in Big Ten play, including wins over mutual opponents Vermont and Miami (Ohio). Emma O'Neill leads the team with 15 points (five goals and five assists). Ellie Rutherford has 14 points (four goals and six assists), while Bianca Pizano has also scored five goals. In the cage, Lyra Gavino has a .658 save percentage and 2.02 goals-against-average.
Rutgers and Michigan State will play for the 21st time, as the Scarlet Knights have the upper hand with an 11-8-1 record all-time against the Spartans. RU has won eight straight games against MSU dating back to 2017.
About Ohio State
Ohio State enters the weekend (with a Friday game at No. 8 Maryland) at 11-1 overall, and 2-1 in league play, with their lone loss coming at No. 6 Michigan. OSU boasts five ranked wins on the year.
Makenna Webster has a team-best 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points. She is fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten in both goals and points per game, and 10th nationally and third in the Big Ten in assists per game. In the cage, Abby Dawson has a save percentage of 0.805 and goals-against-average of 0.69. Both marks are fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes are third nationally in scoring margin (2.90) and fifth in scoring average (3.65), points per game (10.08), goals per game (3.67) and goals-against-average (0.75).
Rutgers and Ohio State will play the 16th game in the all-time series between the two foes. RU has a 9-6 record all-time against the Buckeyes. RU has won six straight games in the series, dating back to 2018, including a 1-0 road victory in a penalty shootout at No. 9 OSU last season.
A Win over No. 3 Ohio State would represent
Up Next
Rutgers remains at home for a one-game weekend next Friday, hosting No. 16 Penn State at 2 p.m. on October 25. That game will be Senior Day, with RU set to recognize seniors Guillermina Causarano, Lucy Bannatyne, Vicky Jure, Paulina Niklaus, Indy van Ek, Ava Cickavage, Bridy Molyneaux, Sophia Howard, and senior manager Amy Kim.
Both games will stream on B1G+. Dom Savino will be on play-by-play on Friday, with Eddie Kalegi on play-by-play Sunday. Marybeth Freeman has the analysis for both games.
The weekend will be the program's annual Letterwinners Celebration Weekend, with alumni invited back 'On the Banks' as part of Homecoming weekend on campus. Sunday is the official letterwinners day celebration, with a pregame brunch for alumns and their guests at the Rutgers Club and a pregame on-field recognition. The program will also host a letterwinners tailgate at SHI Stadium for Saturday's homecoming football game against UCLA.
Rutgers enters the weekend looking to halt a three-game skid, standing at 4-7 overall and 1-4 in league play. This weekend will conclude a span of six ranked opponents over eight games. Of RU's losses, five of them have come against teams in the top eight of this week's NFHCA Coaches Poll (No. 2 Northwestern, No. 5 UConn, No. 6 St. Joe's, No. 7 Michigan and No. 8 Maryland), along with No. 15 Princeton and Indiana. After allowing just six goals in the first five games of the season, RU has allowed 20 goals in the past six games.
Guillermina Causarano currently leads the team with 21 points, nine assists, and shares the team lead for goals (six) with Paulina Niklaus. She is fourth in the nation in assists per game (0.82).
Milestone Tracker
Guillermina Causarano has 22 goals in her career, which is eighth most in program history. Two more will tie her with Linde van Schaik for seventh (24 from 2015-18) and three more will tie her with Mary Beth Dwyer for sixth (25 from 1982-85).
Puck Winter has five defensive saves on the season. The Big Ten's leader in defensive saves and last season's NCAA leader in the statistic, Winter has 20 defensive saves in her career, the second most all-time at RU. The all-time leader at RU is Brandi Bailey, who had 24 from 1993-1996.
Bridy Molyneaux has 19 goals in her career. Her next score would make her the 16th RU player with 20 career goals, and just the fifth to notch 20 career goals in the past 15 years.
About Michigan State
Michigan State enters Friday's game at 7-6 overall, but 0-3 in Big Ten play, including wins over mutual opponents Vermont and Miami (Ohio). Emma O'Neill leads the team with 15 points (five goals and five assists). Ellie Rutherford has 14 points (four goals and six assists), while Bianca Pizano has also scored five goals. In the cage, Lyra Gavino has a .658 save percentage and 2.02 goals-against-average.
Rutgers and Michigan State will play for the 21st time, as the Scarlet Knights have the upper hand with an 11-8-1 record all-time against the Spartans. RU has won eight straight games against MSU dating back to 2017.
About Ohio State
Ohio State enters the weekend (with a Friday game at No. 8 Maryland) at 11-1 overall, and 2-1 in league play, with their lone loss coming at No. 6 Michigan. OSU boasts five ranked wins on the year.
Makenna Webster has a team-best 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points. She is fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten in both goals and points per game, and 10th nationally and third in the Big Ten in assists per game. In the cage, Abby Dawson has a save percentage of 0.805 and goals-against-average of 0.69. Both marks are fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes are third nationally in scoring margin (2.90) and fifth in scoring average (3.65), points per game (10.08), goals per game (3.67) and goals-against-average (0.75).
Rutgers and Ohio State will play the 16th game in the all-time series between the two foes. RU has a 9-6 record all-time against the Buckeyes. RU has won six straight games in the series, dating back to 2018, including a 1-0 road victory in a penalty shootout at No. 9 OSU last season.
A Win over No. 3 Ohio State would represent
- Second ranked win and second top-10 win of the season
- 15th ranked win over the past five seasons and 39th since 2018
- 15th top-10 win since April of 2021
Up Next
Rutgers remains at home for a one-game weekend next Friday, hosting No. 16 Penn State at 2 p.m. on October 25. That game will be Senior Day, with RU set to recognize seniors Guillermina Causarano, Lucy Bannatyne, Vicky Jure, Paulina Niklaus, Indy van Ek, Ava Cickavage, Bridy Molyneaux, Sophia Howard, and senior manager Amy Kim.
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