2025 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
2024 NFHCA Collegiate Watch List
2024 Academic All-Big Ten
2023 Academic All-Big Ten
2024 NFHCA National Academic Squad
Team Captain in 2024, 2023 and 2022
2023 class of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society.
2023 Second Team All-Region
2023 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
2022 Big Ten All-Tournament Team
2022 Academic All-Big Ten
2023 Weekly Awards
Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 18, 2023)
NFHCA Honorable Mention - National Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 20, 2023)
2024 Weekly Awards
Two-Time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 30 and Oct. 21)
Two-Time NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 2 and Oct. 23)
Awards following performances vs. No. 7 Iowa, Michigan State and No. 3 Ohio State
2024: Starting goalkeeper in all 17 games, posting 1.71 goals-against-average and .681 save percentage with 62 saves, with three shutouts ... backstopped team to 5-0 shutout victory vs Vermont (Sep. 1) ... made three saves at Monmouth (Sept. 6) ... stopped five shots against UConn (Sept. 8) recorded three saves against both No. 13 St. Joe's (Sept. 11) and against Miami of Ohio (Sept. 15) ... made five saves against Princeton (Sept. 20) ... stopped six shots in game, plus three of four in penalty shootout, to lead RU to 3-2 win over No.7 Iowa, earning conference and national player of the week honors (Sept. 27) ... saved seven shots at No. 2 Northwestern (Oct. 4) ... had four saves in game at Indiana (Oct. 6) ... recorded two saves vs. Michigan State in 2-0 shutout win (Oct. 18) ... made four saves in 1-0 win over No. 3 Ohio State, blanking offense that entered weekend fifth in nation in scoring (Oct. 20) ... made two saves in 1-0 shutout win over No. 17 Penn State (Oct. 25) ... made three stops at UMass Lowell (Nov. 1) ... had three saves in 2-1 win over No. 7 Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (Nov. 7) ... had four saves and allowed just one goal against No. 1 Northwestern in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (Nov. 8)
2023: Starting goalkeeper in all 20 games ... Second Team All-Region ... had 16-4 record with 1.25 goals-against-average and 0.752 save percentage with 82 saves and six shutouts ... made two saves in 2-0 shutout win over UC Davis (Aug. 25) ... had one save in shutout at Stanford (Aug. 27) ... had five saves in 2-1 win at Cal (Aug. 28) ... made nine saves and was instrumental in goal in penalty shootout to lead RU to 2-1 win at No. 15 UConn (Sept. 1) ... had three saves in win at Villanova (Sept. 8) ... made seven saves in 1-0, double OT win at No. 12 Penn State (Sept. 15) ... blanked La Salle (Sept. 17) ... named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 18) ... recognized as Honorable Mention by NFHCA for national weekly defensive honors (Sept. 20) ... made three saves in win at No. 18 UMass ... made four saves and was a key factor in team's double OT win vs No. 8 Maryland (Sept. 28) ... made three saves in OT win vs No. 15 Michigan (Oct. 6) ... recorded seven saves in 4-2 win vs Monmouth (Oct. 8) ... recorded five saves in shutout, 1-0 penalty shootout win at No. 9 Ohio State (Oct 13) ... made four saves in 3-1 win at Michigan State (Oct. 15) ... made five saves in win vs Indiana (Oct. 20) ... recorded nine saves against No.1 Northwestern (Oct. 22) ... recorded four saves vs No. 8 Iowa (Oct. 27) .. made three saves in shutout win over No. 16 Michigan in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (Nov. 2) ... stopped six shots against No. 8 Maryland (Nov. 3) ... made two saves against No. 9 Harvard in the NCAA Tournament
2022: Starting goalkeeper in all 18 games, playing every minute in the cage ... had a 1.95 goals-against-average and .705 save percentage ... made 86 saves, ranking second in the Big Ten in saves per game (4.78)... made 10 saves against No. 18 Duke (Aug. 26) ... had three saves versus No. 16 St. Joe's (Aug. 28) ... had first shutout of season in 2-0 win over La Salle (Aug. 31) ... made six saves for second consecutive shutout in 1-0 overtime win over No. 15 UConn (Sept. 2) ... blanked No. 24 Monmouth with two saves in double-overtime, 1-0 win (Sept. 9) ... had three saves in first Big Ten win over Michigan State (Sept. 16) ... made five saves in shutout of No. 23 Ohio State (Sept. 23) ... collected season-high 11 saves against No. 8 Michigan (Sept. 25) ... had four saves in 1-0 loss at No. 3 Iowa (Oct. 2) ... made three saves in 2-1 win over No. 3 Northwestern (Oct. 8) ... made nine saves at No. 2 Maryland (Oct. 16), including
highlight-reel stop ... made four saves against No. 12 Syracuse (Oct. 23) ... had four saves against No. 3 Penn State (Oct. 28) ... recorded shutout on four saves in 3-0 win over No. 19 James Madison (Oct. 30) ... made eight saves against No. 4 Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (Nov. 3) ... named to Big Ten All-Tournament Team
2021 (Fall): Played in five games at goalkeeper ... started first two games of season (both wins) ... posted .769 save percentage and 1.10 goals-against-average ... made two saves in shutout victory at No. 12 Duke (Aug. 27) ... stopped two shots in win over Richmond (Aug. 28) ... played in second half, making two saves, in win over No. 20 Monmouth (September 17) ... finished off shutout win over Columbia (Oct. 17) ... made four saves to close out shutout win over Michigan State (Oct. 29)
2021 (Spring): Played in 2 games as backup goalkeeper, seeing 15 minutes of action in wins over Indiana (Feb. 26) and Michigan State (March 14) without allowing a goal
Prior to Rutgers: Member of the Junior Blacksticks Squad from 2015-2018 … participated in STCC 1
st XI 2016-2018 … Fed Cup Winners 2017 … Southern Districts Premier Team 2016-2019 … represented Auckland U15A, U18, and U21 team in international competitions … placed third with the Auckland NHL team in 2017 … co-captain of Auckland U18 team in 2017 … NCEA Level 1, 2, and 3 Merit Endorsements … St. Cuthbert's College Varsity Letter Field Hockey 2015-2018 … named Most Outstanding Goalkeeper for Southern Districts Hockey Club 2018 … parents are Lisa and Tim Howard … has one younger sibling, Ben … also played on the St. Cuthbert's B Netball Team 2014.
Know Your Knights: Sophia Howard
| Sport |
Field Hockey |
| Name: |
Sophia Howard |
| Nickname: |
Soph |
| One word to describe your Coach: |
Passionate |
| The person I most admire is and why: |
My Nana, her determination and positive outlook on life. |
| If I wasn’t playing (sport), I’d be: |
Not doing a lot. |
| I started playing my sport because…: |
My friend needed a goalie for her team and made me try it. |
| I chose Rutgers because…: |
Of the amazing opportunities it would give me on and off the hockey pitch. |
| Rituals I have before, during or after a game are: |
Taking my glove off during the game. |
| Pets I had growing up were: |
My dog Ella and now a cat Sass, and puppy Poppy. |
| The place in the world I would most like to visit is: |
Greece, Tokyo and The Bahamas. |
| The quote that most resonates with me is: |
"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring." - David Bowie |
| One thing on my bucket list is: |
Go skydiving. |
| Phone app you cannot live without: |
Instagram |
| What would you like to say to the R Fund donors who have provided for your scholarship and/or facility resources? |
Thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity! |
