PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 16 Rutgers field hockey opened up the 2025 season with a dominant victory over visiting Wagner, clipping the Seahawks by a 5-1 final margin. Rutgers saw five different players score goals on the day to cruise to the victory and a 1-0 start to the campaign.
Maddie Kidd,
Lyla Rehill,
Maddie Olshemski,
Olivia de Zwaan and
Olivia Fraticelli scored the goals for RU. For Kidd, it marked her first goal as a Scarlet Knight, while the other four players notched their first collegiate goal.
The Scarlet Knights controlled the play throughout the game. RU first got on the scoreboard just under seven minutes into the game, and outshot Wagner by a 22-6 overall margin, including a 19-2 shot advantage in the opening 45 minutes of the contest. Goalkeeper
Emily Nicholls earned her first collegiate win, playing the first 45 minutes, allowing no goals and making two saves. RU also had a 5-2 margin on corners.
The first goal of the season came off the stick of
Maddie Kidd. Keeping the pressure on the defense inside the circle, Kidd gained possession and flipped up a shot over the goalkeeper and into the net for an early 1-0 lead.
It was a freshman who struck next for RU.
Lyla Rehill intercepted a defender's clearing attempt and fired a shot into an opening in the cage for a 2-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Just three minutes later, RU tallied again via a blast from
Maddie Olshemski. Captain
Paulina Niklaus sent a cross-field pass, and Olshemski carried into the circle and let loose a howitzer from the top of the arc for a 3-0 lead.
A freshman-to-freshman connection lead to a fourth goal for RU in the third quarter. Julia Vinas Nieto carried down the far side of the field and slotted a pass for a one-timer for
Olivia de Zwaan, who finished in stride for the tally.
Wagner would add one goal in the fourth quarter with Floortje Leunisse scoring. However, RU answered right back just two minutes later. Captain
Vicky Jure lifted a pass over the goalkeeper, and
Olivia Fraticelli swatted the ball out of midair and into the net for the 5-1 final margin.
With an early 11 a.m. start time, the game was the first Division I contest of the 2025 season. Up next, the Scarlet Knights hit the road to head up to play the University of Vermont. The game against the America East program on Sunday starts at noon.
Gallery: (8-29-2025) Field Hockey Defeats Wagner
