PISCATAWAY, N.J.- No. 19 Rutgers field hockey opened Big Ten Conference play on Friday afternoon in a matchup against Ohio State. A wild game saw the Scarlet Knights establish an early lead, then have to battle back, ultimately coming up clutch with a 2-1 victory in overtime on a goal from freshman
Martha Goodridge. The Scarlet Knights improved to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play, dropping OSU to 3-5, 0-1.
Emily Nicholls, who entered the game with a Big Ten best 56 saves, had 11 stops, her third time in the past four games making 10+ saves. Ohio State pressured RU with a 23-12 shot advantage and 7-5 margin on corners in the game.
"For them to be able to find a way, to fight really hard today, that's what it takes to be successful in the Big Ten," head coach
Meredith Civico said. "I like that this team is growing in that mentality. This team is still growing and developing and figuring out what we're good at. Every time we compete, we see more coming out of them and that's really exciting."
Rutgers got the came off to a strong start in the opening minute of the contest.
Sophie Kuiper got the ball with space, carried past the defense and blasted home the game's first goal just 47 minutes into the contest.
However, Ohio State cranked up the pressure for the next 44 minutes of the contest. Following the opening goal through the end of the third quarter, the visitors outshot the Scarlet Knights by a 20-0 margin. In that time, Ohio State evened the score in the sixth minute of the contest, with Lindsey Roberts scoring off a rebound and some chaos in front of the net. RU's defense stood tall from there and held OSU scoreless over the next sixty minutes.
Following the intermission after the third quarter, RU flipped the momentum and amped up the offensive pressure, outshooting OSU 11-3 over the final 22 minutes of the contest leading into the game-winning goal.
Even in that disparity, RU's defense came up huge.
Puck Winter made a pair of defensive saves in the final two minutes regulation to send it to extra time, reaching up to knock one shot out of the air, then getting low to block one on the resulting corner.
"Credit all of our defenders, that unit with our goalkeeper
Emily Nicholls, they were really tough and gritty defensively," Civico said. "There was a lot of pressure on offense from a tough Ohio State unit. That was Rutgers hockey, tough, gritty, that defensive mentality wins us games.
In overtime, Rutgers finished off the victory with three freshmen charging up the field and a pair of roommates finishing it off for the victory. Julia Vinas Nieto carried the ball up the far side of the field, and
Samantha Arnold sprinted from her position on defense all the way to the backline. Vinas Nieto sent a pass to Arnold, who artfully redirected it around the goalkeeper on one touch to a charging
Martha Goodridge, who blasted home the game winner.
"Martha used her strengths as a hockey player, which is speed in space," Civico explained. "She had the pace and got there, and Sammy made a great one-time off the baseline. It was an absolutely amazing finish on the combination from the both of them. A true highlight reel goal."
Postgame Notes
- With two defensive saves, Puck Winter has 29 in her career, tied for 7th in NCAA history.
- Freshman Samantha Arnold made her first career start for the Scarlet Knights at back.
- Rutgers has outscored opponents 18-6 this season.
- Rutgers is 12-6 in the all-time series against Ohio State
- The Scarlet Knights have an eight-game winning streak versus OSU.
- Rutgers allowed just four goals to the Buckeyes in the last nine meetings.
- Rutgers is 5-1 in the past six Big Ten openers.
- Rutgers returns home on Sunday for the final non-conference game, hosting Columbia at 1 p.m.
