PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey earned their third straight shutout victory on Friday afternoon, taking down No. 17 Penn State, 1-0. The Scarlet Knights celebrated Senior Day by extending their winning streak to its largest margin of the season with the third straight blanking of a league foe.

The Scarlet Knights were propelled by a goal from Puck Winter. RU outshot PSU, 18-3.  Rutgers improved to 7-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play. Penn State fell to 8-8 and 2-5.

The game was scoreless through the first 29 minutes, with RU taking all seven shots in the opening half. Just before the end of the opening half, RU struck first. Paulina Niklaus took a shot that was blocked by a field player. The ball rolled into open space, where Puck Winter charged up to it and launched home a shot for the goal.

The Scarlet Knights continued to control play in the second half. Through three quarters, RU held that 1-0 advantage, with a dominant 11-1 margin in shots through three frames. RU's defense held strong from there to clinch the win.

The game was also Senior Day, with a postgame ceremony honoring the team's seniors. RU had 8 student-athletes and a student manager in the ceremony: Paulina Niklaus, Indy van Ek, Ava Cickavage, Lucy Bannatyne, Guillermina Causarano, Vicky Jure, Bridy Molyneaux, Sophia Howard and student-manager Amy Kim.

Postgame Notes

• Puck Winter had her first goal of the season after scoring eight last season.
• Sophia Howard, the reigning Big Ten and NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week, made two saves for her third straight shutout and fourth of the season.

The Win Represented

• A three-game winning streak, the longest of the season
• Six of the last seven games in the series being won by RU.
• Third ranked win of the season
• Third win against a team in the top-20 of the NCAA RPI
• Second consecutive ranked win
• 16 ranked wins in the past five seasons
• 40 ranked wins since 2018
• 4-4 Record to Close out Big Ten Play, representing the 6^th time over the past 7 seasons RU would finish .500 or better in conference play

Up Next

Rutgers has one final regular season game. The Scarlet Knights will travel to play at UMass Lowell on Friday, November 1. Following that comes the Big Ten Tournament, which starts on November 7, hosted by the University of Maryland.