PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 9 Rutgers field hockey opened the 2024 season with a decisive shutout victory, defeating Vermont 5-0 on Sunday at home.
Guillermina Causarano provided a pair of goals as the Scarlet Knights received contributions from four different goal scorers.
Defensively, Rutgers stymied the Catamounts offense, holding them to nine shots as goalkeeper
Sophia Howard earned the win and shutout. The Scarlet Knights dominated much of the action with a 28-9 advantage in shots and 8-6 mark in penalty corners.
As the first quarter came to a close,
Indy van Ek provided the first points of the season, scoring on a pass from
Paulina Niklaus. Causarano was on the receiving end of a pair of passes from Niklaus and
Kara Heck as she gave Rutgers a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
The offensive production continued minutes into the second half when Causarano collected the rebound off a saved shot to extend the Scarlet Knights' lead to 3-0. It marked her second goal of the game and second time in her career that she accounted for multiple goals in a game.
Rutgers added two more goals in the fourth quarter, the first coming from
Ava Cickavage who was able to perfectly time a deflected shot and redirect it into the back of the net.
Kara Heck earned a penalty stroke with less than eight minutes to play. She delivered the final tally for the Scarlet Knights and sealed the 5-0 win.
The Scarlet Knights return to action on Friday, September 6 with at road matchup at Monmouth. The game is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
Postgame Notes
- With the win, Rutgers improved to 12-2 in season openers under head coach Meredith Civico
- Scarlet Knights are 4-1 all-time versus Vermont and 25-14 all-time against the America East Conference
- RU moves to 45-18 since the start of the 2021 fall season
- 12-2 against non-conference opponents over the past two seasons
- Five goals were the most since scoring six against Villanova (6-2) on September 8, 2023
- Guillermina Causarano recorded second-career game with multiple goals (scored three goals vs. No. 18 UMass in 2023)
- Paulina Niklaus posted second multiple assist game in her career with two assists vs. Vermont
