PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers field hockey is gearing up for a new campaign, with the 2025 fall season set to begin with the regular season opener on Friday, August 29. Take a look at how the Scarlet Knights shape up ahead of the August 29 home opener against Wagner.
The Scarlet Knights are ranked No. 16 in the nation in the Preseason Coaches Poll. Rutgers faces five of the top 10 teams in the preseason poll throughout the season and 10 of the top 18 overall. In the preseason poll, RU is one of seven ranked Big Ten squads, with just two teams in the conference being unranked in the preseason. Over half of Rutgers' regular season games (58%, 10 out of 17) come against teams ranked in the preseason.
Rutgers finished last season at 8-9 overall. The team was No. 14 in the RPI, the highest RPI for a team that did not make the NCAA Tournament. RU played eight of its 17 games against NCAA Tournament teams and 10 games against teams in the top-20 of the RPI, including six games against top-10 RPI teams. Seven of the nine losses were to NCAA Tournament teams.
RU has won 51 of their past 78 games over the past four seasons. During the year, RU defeated four ranked teams: No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 Iowa, No. 7 Ohio State, and No. 17 Penn State. The team was ranked in the top-20 for numerous weeks in both the NFHCA Coaches Poll and the RPI rankings.
Since 2018, field hockey is 84-47, a winning percentage of 64%, with over half of those wins coming against ranked teams. Rutgers has 17 ranked wins in the past five seasons and 42 ranked wins since 2018, which includes 16 top-10 wins since 2021. In 2018, RU went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 32 years, then made two additional NCAA Tournaments over the next five years. The team set the program record for wins in 2021 (19) and in 2023 had the second most wins in program history (16). RU was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2021 after winning the Big Ten Tournament on home turf.
The Scarlet Knights bring back a host of experience from last season, including three players who earned all-conference recognition last year and five who started at least 16 games last season.
Rutgers will be captained by a pair of experienced veterans in
Paulina Niklaus and
Vicky Jure. Each participated in Senior Day ceremonies last season, then elected to utilize additional eligibility for one additional campaign 'On the Banks'.
Niklaus returns to the squad after an All-American campaign last year. The German was a Third Team All-American, First Team All-Big Ten, First Team All-Region and All-Big Ten Tournament team selection last season. It was her second straight season as an all-conference and all-region selection, and she has scored 10 goals and seven assists in 34 career starts.
"I'm excited about this season," Niklaus said. "We have a lot of new people and they've already done a great job fitting into the team and their roles. As a captain, it's important to help the younger players find their role and help them get through the season."
Jure boasts 55 career games played at RU, with 29 starts across the midfield. She has 12 career points (two goals, eight assists) and was the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree last season.
Winter returns for her fourth season as a Scarlet Knight as the program's all-time leader in defensive saves. She has 25 defensive saves in her career after leading the NCAA in 2023 (with 12) and 2024 (with 9) and stands at ninth all-time in NCAA history in the stat. Winter is a two-time All-Big Ten and three-time All-Region player, and the back was the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Across 55 career starts she also has scored 12 goals.
Cogdell made an instant impact last season. In her debut campaign from England, she started all 17 games and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Beattie has been a consistent presence across the team's back line. The native of Northern Ireland has started 32 games there over the past two seasons.
Kuiper enters her sophomore season out of The Netherlands. She scored three goals and four assists and earned a Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after the game-winning goal against Michigan State.
Niklaus, Jure, Cogdell, Kuiper and Winter combined for 15 goals and 11 assists last season.
Also expected to contribute this upcoming season are
Ashley Arnold,
Natalie Arnold,
Olivia Fraticelli,
Dani Gindville,
Maddie Kidd and
Maddie Olshemski. All played between 9 and 14 games for the Scarlet Knights last season.
"Our balance between older experienced players and young and eager girls is a really good blend,"
Ashley Arnold said. "We do a great job of competing with each other in practices and have a great bond off the field as well, and that translates well onto the field. "
Caroline DeKenipp,
Abbie Zacchini and
Olivia Stazi return after redshirt seasons.
Erica Babitts returned in goal as the senior played in two games last season.
After taking a redshirt season last year, goalkeeper
Emily Nicholls had a strong offseason, being named the MVP of the Big Apple Indoor Tournament, and excelled at the Senior Nexus Championship, leading her team to a medal with two saves in a penalty shootout.
The Scarlet Knights bring in a talented group of seven freshmen. This includes a host of talented players from overseas seeking to continue RU's strong history of international players in
Martha Goodridge,
Olivia de Zwaan and Julia Vinas Nieto. Supplementing the group are
Lyla Rehill,
Krista Lilienthal,
Samantha Arnold,
Camryn Johnson and
Shivya Desai.
"I'm looking forward to playing with all the new freshmen," senior
Ashley Arnold said. "I think they've done a great job of blending in and showing how Rutgers is a very welcoming place. We have a great vibe and great chemistry going with this team and I think we have a lot of potential."
The team sees the departure of four of their top eight-point scorers last season in
Guillermina Causarano,
Bridy Molyneaux,
Kara Heck and
Ava Cickavage, along with
Lucy Bannatyne and
Indy van Ek. Additionally, goalkeeper
Sophia Howard, the team's starter in the cage for the past three seasons, has graduated.
The Scarlet Knights are well positioned heading into the upcoming season. With a tight family-first culture and strong team bonds, RU will bring strong chemistry off the field into seeking success on it.
"It's really exciting to have a lot of new faces and this team is especially close-knit, even from the start,"
Dani Gindville said. "The connections are really coming together and I'm excited to see how that goes as we get into the games."
"It's exciting to have all the new players,"
Anna Cogdell said. "I'm super excited to play with all the girls on this team. Because we are so close off the field, we work really hard for each other on the field. One big strength is that we have some really experienced players and I can't wait to play with them all."
