PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey will host No. 7 Iowa on Friday. Game time will be 1 p.m., with the contest televised on Big Ten Network. Dean Linke and Kara Lentz will have the call for BTN.
About Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights have opened the year with a 3-4 record, and 0-1 in Big Ten games. The Scarlet Knights have won three games by combined margin of 14-3 (wining 5-0 over Vermont, 3-2 over Monmouth and 6-1 over Miami of Ohio). Each RU loss has been by one goal and came to a team ranked in this week's Coaches Poll (by this week's rankings – No. 5 Maryland, No. 6 St. Joe's, No. 11 UConn and No. 16 Princeton). This is the first Big Ten game at home.
Rutgers is led offensively by
Guillermina Causarano (six goals, 16 points) and
Kara Heck (four goals, nine points). On the year, RU is outscoring opponents 19-12 and outshooting them 100-63. RU's wins are by an average margin of 3.67 goals.
The Rutgers field hockey program came in at No. 18 in the initial RPI ranking of the 2024 season. Playing in the top field hockey conference in the nation, RU is one of seven Big Ten programs to be ranked in the top-20 of Monday's RPI. Rutgers has thus far played four teams in the top-10 of the RPI and five in the top-15. The Scarlet Knights' top victory has come against No. 10 Monmouth, and every game played thus far against top-15 RPI schools has been decided by one goal. RU will face top-10 RPI programs in its next two games, welcoming Iowa (9) prior to a trip to Northwestern (4). That is followed by trips to Indiana and Michigan (11) as Rutgers starts October with three straight road games. The Scarlet Knights were ranked in the first three NFHCA Coaches Polls, peaking at No. 9 in the preseason.
About Iowa
Iowa is 4-2 on the year. The have wins over No. 18 Wake Forest, mutual foe Miami of Ohio, New Hampshire and Delaware, while falling to No. 2 UNC and No. 1 Northwestern. After making an NCAA Tournament appearance last season, the Hawkeyes brought back nine starters.
Dionne van Aalsum is the lone Hawkeye with multiple goals (two) this year. The sophomore has 30 goals in 25 collegiate games after leading the nation in goalscoring last season as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Iowa goalkeeper Mia Magnotta has a 1.11 goals-against-average, seventh nationally. She posts a .759 save percentage on the year.
About the Series
Rutgers and Iowa will play for the 16
th time, with Iowa leading the all-time series 11-3-1 and having won the past five games. Rutgers' last defeated the Hawkeyes in 2018, its longest drought against any Big Ten foe. Iowa's five-game streak was preceded by three straight wins for RU from 2016-2018.
Milestone Tracker
Guillermina Cauarano 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 four 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 16
th RU player with 20 career goals, and just the fifth to notch 20 career goals in the past 15 years.
With a Win
A Victory over No. 7 Iowa Would Represent:
- First ranked win of the season and 38th ranked win since 2018
- 14th ranked win over the past five seasons
- First win over Iowa since a 1-0 win over the No. 7 Hawkeyes on Oct. 21, 2018
- First top-10 win since defeating No. 9 Ohio State (Oct. 13, 2023)
- Highest ranked opponent defeated since No. 3 Northwestern (Oct. 8, 2022)
- 14th top-10 win since April of 2021
Rutgers Hall of Famers
Two alumns of Rutgers field hockey become Rutgers Athletics Hall of Famers, as Maria Grant and Hallie Cohen are set to be recognized for their achievements during their time 'On the Banks' this week. The duo will be part of a six-member 2024 Hall of Fame Class, with the Hall of Fame induction taking place this Thursday.
"Hallie Cohen and Maria Grant were pioneers for women's sports," head coach
Meredith Civico said. "They blazed a path for female athletes at Rutgers and were part of a nationwide movement that changed the landscape for all who followed them. The fact that they were part of our field hockey program is something we are immensely proud of and I am so happy that their impact will forever be recognized by the Rutgers Hall of Fame."
Grant was an integral part of the 1984 team that was ranked 10th nationally and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final 8 for the first time in program history. Recognized as a Penn Monto/NFCHA Regional All-American and the team's "Best Defensive Player", Grant was also a member of the United States Women's Field Hockey squad and was selected to participate in the 1982 U.S.A. National Sports Festival. Grant later served as a volunteer assistant coach for the field hockey program. She also worked as an assistant field hockey coach at Syracuse, helping the field hockey team to a No. 10 national ranking and securing a spot in the ECAC Tournament, and continued to coach collegiate field hockey afterwards.
Cohen was a field hockey letterwinner from 1975-78. During her time on the banks, she earned a starting spot in the backfield as a freshman. Cohen earned team MVP honors twice, being recognized in both 1977 and 1978. She was recognized at a national level in 1980, as she earned a Olympic tryout. Cohen was a trailblazer for the program as the first recipient of a field hockey scholarship. Cohen, a graduate of Wayne Valley High School, earned her bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1980.
The two Hall of Famers were multi-sport stars during their time in Piscataway. Grant was a First Team All-American and a three-time All-Region selection as a goalkeeper for the women's lacrosse program. Cohen starred on the softball diamond as a top pitcher, leading that program to the AIAW World Series as an all-conference honoree, and also playing basketball.
The duo will join four other field hockey alumns as members of the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame. Elizabeth McGuire and Renee Clarke (Class of 1994), Elizabeth Ferrara (Class of 1998), Heather Jones (Class of 2000) and Heidi Faith (Class of 2002) were previously inducted as Hall of Famers representing the field hockey program.
