EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 15 Rutgers field hockey continued a lengthy winning streak against a Big Ten opponent, defeating Michigan State by a final score of 5-0 for the team's 10^th straight win over the Spartans, dating back to 2016. Rutgers improves to 7-4 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play with the win. With the loss, Michigan State falls to 3-7 overall and 0-3 in the league. Rutgers has now won four of its past five games, and have three straight wins. 

Sophie Kuiper led RU with two goals, her first career multi-goal game. Rutgers also saw goals from Martha Goodridge, Olivia Fraticelli and Dani Gindville. Kuiper and Fraticelli now share the RU lead in goals with six on the year. Goalkeeper Emily Nicholls made four saves in the shutout victory. The Scarlet Knights had a 21-6 advantage in shots on the game and 7-2 in corners.

Rutgers got on the scoreboard early with two goals in the first ten minutes of the game. For the second straight Big Ten game, it was Sophie Kuper who scored in the first seven minutes of the game after also scoring in the opening minute in last Friday's game against Ohio State. Paulina Niklaus sent a ball into the circle the Kuiper redirected past the goalkeeper for an early 1-0 lead.

Just two minutes later, RU added to its ledger. The second goal came off the stick of Martha Goodridge, who blasted home a shot for an early 2-0 lead over the Spartans.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter, MSU countered with pressure with a trio of corners. Goalkeeper Emily Nicholls stood tall to the task, making a trio of saves, including a full slide to block a low attempt, keeping the shutout intact.

In the second quarter, RU added two more goals. First, RU capitalized on a penalty corner, with Dani Gindville credited with the goal and Anna Cogdell picking up an assist. Then, Olivia Fraticelli scored, knocking home a rebound to give the Scarlet Knights a 4-0 lead heading into halftime.

Rutgers placed nine shots on goal in the opening half, scoring four of them. All of MSU's first half shots on goal came in the one sequence where Nicholls made three straight saves off the penalty corners.

Coming out of halftime, RU kept relentless pressure on Michigan State's end. In the third quarter, the visitors had a 7-0 margin on shots. In the fourth quarter, Kuiper tallied again. She carried it in the circle, around the defense, and sent in a hard backhanded shot the beat the goalkeeper. RU also going deeper into their bench depth in the second half, with 22 players seeing action in the Big Ten contest as they closed out the win and get ready for a ranked showdown next on Sunday.

Postgame Notes

• RU now has 10 straight wins over Michigan State
• Rutgers now has 13 wins overall against MSU, RU's most lifetime wins against any Big Ten team
• The Scarlet Knights' 2-0 start to Big Ten play is the third time in four years and for the fifth time since joining the league in 2014

• Rutgers is outscoring opponents 31-6 in wins this season.
• Michigan State was shut out for the third consecutive game.
• The shutout was Rutgers' third of the season and second consecutive (Wagner, Columbia).

Up Next

Rutgers stays out in the state of Michigan for another road conference game on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights will battle No. 12 Michigan on Sunday at noon. That game will be nationally televised by Big Ten Network, with Jack Kizer and Kara Lentz on the call.