No. 6 Rutgers field hockey prepares for Big Ten road trip
The Rutgers field hockey team is heading back on the road for a weekend of Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights (12-0, 3-0) will be looking to continue their perfect season when they face Ohio State on Friday and then take on Michigan State on Sunday.
No. 6 Rutgers is on a tear this season and is undefeated with six ranked wins. The Knights are coming off of a big weekend at home, defeating No. 15 Michigan in overtime and getting a 4-2 victory over Monmouth.
Their match against the Hawks marked the last non-conference game of the year.
Rutgers is set to take on another ranked opponent this Friday. The Knights will be traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to face the Buckeyes (12-3, 4-2). No. 7 Ohio State is coming off a 3-0 shutout victory over Kent State yesterday.
The Buckeyes are led by Makenna Webster's impressive offensive prowess. Webster leads her team with an eye-opening 15 goals this season. She is one of the top offensive players in the country, as she has 38 points across 15 games. Webster also has the sixth most goals in the nation.
Rutgers’ defense will need to contain Webster around the cage. Other than Webster, Brenna Bough and Julia Rodijk are players to watch with 8 goals apiece.
On Sunday, the Knights will be in East Lansing, Michigan, for another conference matchup, this time against the Spartans (3-8, 1-4).
Michigan State has been in a rough stretch lately, having recently faced three top Big Ten teams. The Spartans have only managed to score 1 goal across these last three matchups and are consequently on a three-game losing streak. The schedule only gets harder for them, as they will meet two more Big Ten teams, Penn State and Rutgers, this week.
Michigan State’s weakness is scoring goals. The Spartans have only scored 11 goals this season and have allowed 25 goals to be scored on them. Only six players have scored goals for Michigan State with Emma O’Neill and Ellie Rutherford leading the team with 3 goals each.
The Knights offense has been firing on all cylinders as they have scored 32 goals this season with 10 of those coming from junior midfielder Guillermina Causarano. Causarano won her second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award for her play last weekend.
The week ahead will be a big test for Rutgers as they try to stretch their perfect record another week. With two more wins this weekend, Rutgers could collect its seventh-ranked win this season and improve its conference record to 5-0.
The Knights will face off against Ohio State on Friday at 3 p.m. to open their weekend slate. The two top-10 teams will have their match broadcast on Big Ten Plus. Rutgers and the Spartans will begin their game on Sunday at 1 p.m. with the game being broadcast on Big Ten Plus as well.
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