PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey (8-8) has a quick turnaround to play again in the Big Ten Tournament. After earning a victory in Thursday's Quarterfinals against No. 7 Ohio State, RU will now face No. 1 Northwestern in the Semifinals on Friday. Game time is 1 p.m., and it will be a national television broadcast on Big Ten Network with Jack Kizer and Kara Lentz on the call. Rutgers will play in the Semifinals for the second straight season, and third time in four years, looking to make its first appearance in the title game since winning the tournament in 2021.
About Rutgers
RU earned a crucial victory on Thursday in its 11 a.m. Quarterfinal matchup against the Buckeyes.
Kara Heck scored both goals in a 2-1 victory, the team's second top-10 win over OSU this year. Heck had a strong play to evade the goalkeeper and finish on the first goal, then recorded a deflection on a ball from
Guillermina Causarano on the eventual game-winner. Heck has six goals on the year, but it was her first game with multiple goals since September 17 of last season, when she was with Boston College. She has now tied her previous career-high in goals and points, having exactly matched her 2023 stat line.
The Scarlet Knights, who stand at 8-8 overall this season, have now claimed four ranked wins and three top-10 wins. Since falling to 4-7 on October 11 after a loss at No. 5 Michigan, the squad has rebounded to play some of its best hockey of the year. RU is 4-1 in the five games since, with a 4-0 mark against Big Ten teams in that span, and three ranked wins over that time (No. 3 Ohio State, No. 17 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State).
Rutgers field hockey was well recognized on Wednesday with the release of the annual all-Big Ten awards. The Scarlet Knights were honored with a First Team All-Big Ten selection (
Paulina Niklaus), two Second Team All-Big Ten selections (
Guillermina Causarano and
Puck Winter), a member of the All-Freshman Team (
Anna Cogdell) and the team's Sportsmanship Award winner (
Vicky Jure). The Scarlet Knights had three starters on the defensive end (Niklaus, Winter and Cogdell) recognized along with one forward (Causarano). Starting in 2018, RU had at least three all-conference selections in six of the past seven seasons.
About Northwestern and the Series
The Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the NFHCA Coaches Poll this week following an 18-0 regular season. Rutgers faced them on October 4 in Evanston, a 4-0 win for the home squad. The Wildcats swept league play and picked up seven top-10 wins throughout the year. Statistically, NW is in the top-five in assists, goals-against-average, goals per game, corners, points, save percentage, scoring average and shutouts. They have outscored opponents 66-10 and held opponents to one goal or fewer in 15 of 18 games.
Rutgers has faced Northwestern 16 times, with the Wildcats holding a 11-5 all-time margin. The last eight meetings, however, are even at 4-4. The Scarlet Knights have five ranked wins all-time against Northwestern, with four of those coming against a top-five ranked Wildcats squad. RU has never defeated the nation's No. 1 ranked team. Their highest ranked win in history came over No. 2 Michigan in 2021, which gave the team their first ever Big Ten Tournament title.
Potential Path to a Title
The other side of the bracket for a potential Big Ten Championship game features No. 2 seed Maryland facing No. 3 seed Michigan in the other semifinal. Rutgers went 0-2 versus those teams this year. The title game begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday, also on Big Ten Network.
A Win over No. 1 Northwestern would represent:
- First ever win over a No. 1 ranked team in program history
- Fifth ranked win of the season
- Fourth top-10 win of the season
- 17th top-10 win since April of 2021
- Sixth all-time win against Northwestern (5-4 in last nine meetings)
- Fifth win over a Northwestern team ranked in top-five
- Fifth win against a team in the top-20 of the NCAA RPI
- Fourth consecutive ranked win
- 18 ranked wins in the past five seasons
- 42 ranked wins since 2018
Big Ten Tournament History
Rutgers is 5-8 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, qualifying for the event in nine of the 10 previous seasons as a league member. Last season RU was the No. 2 seed and defeated host Michigan in the opening round (1-0) prior to a loss to No. 3 seed Maryland (2-1). Prior to that, all of RU's lifetime wins in the Big Ten Tournament have come during a 3-0 run to the Big Ten Tournament title in 2021.
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 No. 3 seed Northwestern (Columbus, Ohio)
2023: 1-0 Win over No. 7 seed Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2-1 Loss to No. 3 seed Maryland (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2024: 2-1 Win over No. 5 seed Ohio State (College Park, Md.)
