PISCATAWAY, N.J.- No. 19 Rutgers field hockey completes its five-game homestand this weekend with two more home contests. The Scarlet Knights will begin Big Ten Conference play on Friday with the league opener hosting Ohio State, then welcome in Columbia on Sunday.
Game Coverage
Friday versus Ohio State (3 pm):
Live Stream |
Live Stats
- Scarlet Out: Wear Red!
- Free T-Shirts
Sunday versus Columbia (1 pm):
Live Stream |
Live Stats
- Morgan's Message and Youth Field Hockey Day
Rutgers Notes
Rutgers enters the weekend with a 4-4 record. The Scarlet Knights have allowed just 13 goals through the opening eight games. The Scarlet Knights boast wins over No. 16 UConn, Wagner, Vermont and New Hampshire, with losses to four ranked teams – No. 11 Syracuse, No. 3 Virginia, No. 11 Princeton and No. 18 Monmouth.
RU has scored 16 goals in its four wins and just two goals in its four losses. In wins, RU has outscored opponents 16-5 and in losses, have been outscored 8-2.
Olivia de Zwaan leads the team with four goals while
Olivia Fraticelli is second with three. Goalkeeper
Emily Nicholls is sixth in the nation in save percentage (83.1%), 11
th in the nation in saves per game (7.0), and leading the conference with 56 saves, 21 more than second place.
Ranking Notes
Rutgers entered the season ranked at No. 16 in the NFHCA Preseason Coaches Poll, and came in at No. 18, 17 and 19 in subsequent polls. Since the Scarlet Knights first earned a ranking under
Meredith Civico in 2017, the Scarlet Knights have earned a ranking at one point each season, including every preseason poll since 2018.
About Ohio State
OSU, who entered the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason, fell out of the rankings this past week after dropping to 3-4 overall on the campaign. After outscoring Ball State and Kent State 16-3 on opening weekend, OSU has lost to No. 3 Virginia, No. 11 Syracuse, No. 8 Harvard and now-ranked Louisville, defeating Northeastern.
Makenna Webster leads the team with 11 goals and 25 points, second in the Big Ten in each stat. She's third nationally in goals per game and fourth in points. Goalkeeper Maddie Stevens has a 1.50 goals-against-average and 66.7% save percentage.
Rutgers is 11-6 in the all-time series against Ohio State, entering the game with a seven-game winning streak. Six of those times RU defeated a ranked Ohio State team, including three top-10 wins.
Last season, RU defeated then-No. 7 OSU 2-1 in the Big Ten Quarterfinals, following up a 1-0 home victory over then-No. 3 OSU in the regular season. Rutgers has shut out the Buckeyes in four of the past six meetings, and allowed just three goals to the Buckeyes in the last eight games.
About Columbia
Columbia is 3-2 on the year, defeating No. 18 Albany, LIU and Fairfield, with losses to Quinnipiac and Cornell. Jacinta Solari Etcheberry has three goals to lead the team, while goalkeeper Margot Houle has a 2.22 goals-against-average and 72.5% save percentage. Prior to facing RU they host Brown on Friday.
Rutgers and Columbia have played 10 games lifetime, with RU winning seven. The Scarlet Knights won the last meeting in 2021, a 2-0 victory where RU had a 28-6 shot advantage, marked four out of the last five meetings being wins.
With a Win…
Versus Ohio State
- 12-6 record against the Buckeyes, including eight straight wins
- 5-1 in the past six Big Ten openers
Versus Columbia
- 8-3 lifetime against the Lions and five of the past six being wins
Milestone Tracker – Puck Winter Defensive Saves
Puck Winter is on the top-10 all time in NCAA history in defensive saves. The reigning two-time NCAA stat leader in the statistic, Winter is Rutgers all-time leader, second in the Big Ten and 9
th in NCAA history.
- Michelle Cargen, Holy Cross (1987-90): 58
- Susan Crafts, Virginia (1982-85): 38
- Amy Gielle, William & Mary (1993-96): 34
- Beth Senic, Ohio State (1985-88): 31
- Angie King, Quinnipiac (2013-16): 31
- Chantal Lacroix, Holy Cross (1990-93): 30
- Wendy Barker, Holy Cross (1985-88): 29
- Monica McCorry, Bucknell (1998-01): 29
9. Puck Winter, Rutgers: 27
Civico Emphasizes Team Culture
Since her first day as head coach, the foundation of Rutgers Field Hockey has been the culture, about intentionally creating a family atmosphere that allows student-athletes to thrive as students, as athletes and as people. By attracting and recruiting the very best players and staff over her fourteen years as head coach, and giving them an environment in which they flourish,
Meredith Civico has built the program into one of the top in the Big Ten – and the nation. The core tenant for the program has been the establishment of a strong, positive culture where progression is expected, differences are celebrated and family is everything. The feeling of togetherness in the locker room and when competing is what makes this team special and unique.
"Culture is something you have to work at every single day; it doesn't just happen," Civico explained. "We have this acronym: RUTGERS that stands for our core values: Relentless, United, Tenacious, Gritty, Excellence, Respect, Strength. These aren't just words on a wall – they're how we live. We're not just coaching a sport; we're coaching people. Sports are played by people, and people are the most important."
Preseason Accolades
Rutgers field hockey had three players named to the preseason Big Ten Players to Watch List.
Anna Cogdell,
Paulina Niklaus and
Puck Winter were all recognized by the league office. The trio all earned all-conference recognition to close out last season as well.
Cogdell returns for her sophomore campaign after being recognized on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in her debut campaign. The native of Badingham, England started all 17 games at midfield, had two goals and an assist, and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after the team's win over No. 7 Iowa. She was also named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad.
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.
Winter returns for her fourth season as a Scarlet Knight as the program's all-time leader in defensive saves, posting 25 in her career after leading the NCAA in 2023 (with 12) and 2024 (with nine) 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.
Additionally, six student athletes from Rutgers were recognized by USA Field Hockey in the selections for the 2025 Senior Nexus Championship.
Olivia Fraticelli,
Dani Gindville,
Maddie Kidd and
Emily Nicholls were selected to compete, while
Natalie Arnold and
Maddie Olshemski were named as alternates.
Recent History
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 55 of their past 86 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 88-51, a winning percentage of 63%, with over half of those wins coming against ranked teams. Rutgers has 18 ranked wins in the past six seasons and 43 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.
International Knights
Rutgers field hockey alumn Katie Larmour was recently honored with her first ever selection to the senior national team for her country. Larmour earned six caps with Team Ireland this summer, playing against Team USA in an exhibition match in Charlotte, then competing for Team Ireland in early August in the EuroHockey Championships.
Alumn Iris Langejans also recently begun a professional career back home in the Netherlands, signing with HDM Dames 1 to play at the highest level of Dutch professional field hockey.
