PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Following a top-10 win for Rutgers field hockey, two Scarlet Knights earned Big Ten Player of the Week awards on Monday. Sophia Howard was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and Anna Cogdell was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week as the Scarlet Knights were recognized twice in earning their first weekly awards from the conference this season.

The Scarlet Knights earned their first ranked win of the season Friday, as the Scarlet Knights downed No. 7 Iowa following a penalty shootout for the team's first Big Ten win of the season. The victory marked the first top-10 win since 2023 (and 14^th since 2021) and the highest ranked opponent defeated since October of 2022. The win was RU's first over Iowa since 2018.

Howard made a season-high six saves in the victory over the Hawkeyes. The redshirt senior goalkeeper was key to RU prevailing in the penalty shootout as she stopped three of the four attempts to boost Rutgers to a 3-1 margin in the penalty shootout. The Aukland, New Zealand native earned her 30^th collegiate win and surpassed 200 collegiate saves. Howard has a 1.74 goals-against-average and .667 save percentage on the season. Working on a certificate in Labor and Employment Relations, Howard earned her second career Big Ten weekly honor.

Cogdell has made an instant impact in her freshman season 'On the Banks'. The product of Badingham, England has started all eight games this season. Against the Hawkeyes, she moved to a starting spot at left back to fill in as RU was down a starter on defense. She performed well at that spot, playing 68 minutes, her second most in her career.

The Scarlet Knights are 4-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. RU returns to action this weekend on the road, playing at Northwestern on Friday and Indiana on Sunday. The game against the Wildcats will be the team's fourth straight game against a ranked foe, and third in that stretch against a top-10 program.