PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey will open the 2024 season with six Scarlet Knights – Guillermina Causarano, Ava Cickavage, Kara Heck, Sophia Howard, Paulina Niklaus and Puck Winter – on the NFHCA Watchlist.

It marks three consecutive seasons that Causarano and Winter earned preseason recognition, while Cickavage appears on the watchlist for the second-straight season. Causarano, Niklaus and Winter were also named on the Big Ten Players to Watch heading into the fall season.

Causarano enters her third season as a team captain this fall. The Salta, Argentina native led the Scarlet Knights with a team-best 12 goals and eight assists. Both marks were in the top-10 all-time for a single-season in program history. Her efforts saw her named First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-Region.

Cickavage started each of the 19 games she appeared in last season, her first as a Scarlet Knight. The Moorestown, New Jersey native was named Second Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-Region.

Heck is set to begin her first season at Rutgers as a graduate transfer from Boston College. While at BC, she was a Second Team All-ACC and First Team All-Northeast Region selection in 2023. Heck started 17 games over her final two seasons with the Eagles, totaling 14 points (six goals, two assists).

Howard, a two-time team captain from New Zealand, posted a career-best 1.25 goals-against-average and 0.752 save percentage with 82 saves and six shutouts in 2023. For her efforts, Howard earned Second Team All-Region honors.

Niklaus, a Mannheim, Germany native, scored three goals and totaled four assists across 17 starts as a rookie last season. She'll enter her second collegiate season as a team captain after earning Second Team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors last year, as well as a placement on the Big Ten All-Tournament team.

Winter enters her third season 'On the Banks'. An All-American and last season's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Winter led the nation with 12 defensive saves, the second-highest output in team history. The native of Deventer in The Netherlands was also second on the team with eight goals, being named First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-Region.

This NFHCA watchlist is intended to showcase those field hockey student-athletes with the strongest potential for consideration to the current year's NFHCA All-Region and All-American teams. To be nominated for the 2024 NFHCA Watchlist, student-athletes must have been previously recognized for their outstanding field hockey abilities within the past two years (NFHCA All-Region, NFHCA All-American, All-Conference, Senior Nexus Championship selection, NCAA All-Tournament Team, and/or U.S. National or International Team roster) and the student-athlete's head coach must be an active NFHCA member.

This list does not constitute a nomination or selection to the NFHCA All-Region or All-American teams. Student-athletes not listed on the NFHCA Watchlist may still be nominated for NFHCA All-Region and All-American recognition.