PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers field hockey begins postseason play this week. The Scarlet Knights will travel down to College Park for the tournament, hosted by the University of Maryland.
Rutgers earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament. The team will begin Big Ten Tournament as the first game of the event, in the Quarterfinals on Thursday. The game will be at 11 a.m. and will be against No. 5 seed Ohio State. That game will be streaming on B1G+, with Jack Kizer and Kara Lentz on the call.
About Rutgers
Rutgers' finished league play with a 4-4 record, representing the 6 time over the past 7 seasons RU finished .500 or better in conference play. The Scarlet Knights finished conference play strong, with wins in their last three league games (Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State).
RU earned the No. 4 seed, which means that the team will be a top-four seed and play its first game as the higher seed for the third time in the past four seasons. In that span, RU also was the No. 2 seed twice, including when they ultimately won the 2021 Big Ten Tournament as hosts.
The Scarlet Knights are number 17 in the NCAA's RPI this week after playing one of the nation's toughest scheduled. RU is the highest team in the RPI with less than 11 wins. The team has eight losses, with six of them coming to teams in the top-13 in the RPI (current No. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 13 in the RPI). RU also has wins over No. 12 (Ohio State), No. 18 (Penn State) and No. 19 (Iowa) of the RPI.
Rutgers is buoyed by a strong team defense. is a three-year starter in goal, had shutouts in three of the team's four conference wins, and was twice named both the Big Ten and national NFHCA Defensively Player of the Year. is a key piece at the back, and also has scored seven goals on the year. She is tied with for the team lead in goals, while Causarano leads the team in assists (9) and points (23).
About the Opponent
Ohio State earned the fifth seed and is ranked seventh nationally in the NFCHA Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes finished the season at 14-4 overall, unbeaten in non-conference play, and 4-4 in league play. OSU entered the matchup with Rutgers in the regular season having won 12 of its first 13 games, then finished with just two wins and three losses in the final five games.
OSU outscored opponents 56-18 on the year. RU was at a 30-28 advantage.
Mackenna Webster (15 goals, 10 assists) is ninth nationally in points per game (2.22) and 14 in goals (0.83). Katie Fichtner added seven goals and had 16 points. Abby Danson is sixth nationally in save percentage (.797).
OSU is fifth in the nation in goals-against average (0.98) while also top-ten offensively, standing ninth in goals per game (3.06).
Rutgers and Ohio State will play the 17th game in the all-time series between the two foes. RU has a 10-6 record all-time against the Buckeyes. RU has won seven straight games in the series, dating back to 2018.
RU defeated then-No. 3 Ohio State on October 20, just 18 days prior to this meeting. scored the lone goal in the game in front of RU's largest home crowd of the year, and made that stand up with four saves for the shutout.
A Win over No. 7 Ohio State would be:
Potential Path to the Title
The tournament format gives the No. 1 seed a bye, so RU already knows which opponent would await them if they qualified for the Semifinals. With a victory over Ohio State, Rutgers would play on 1 p.m. on BTN Friday against Northwestern.
The Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the NFHCA Coaches Poll this week following an 18-0 regular season. Rutgers faced them on October 4 in Evanston, a 4-0 win for the home squad. The Wildcats swept league play and picked up seven top-10 wins throughout the year. Statistically, NW is in the top-five in assists, goals-against-average, goals per game, corners, points, save percentage, scoring average and shutouts. They have outscored opponents 66-10 and held opponents to one goal or fewer in 15 of 18 games.
Rutgers has faced Northwestern 16 times, with the Wildcats holding a 11-5 all-time margin. The last eight meetings, however, are even at 4-4. The Scarlet Knights have five ranked wins all-time against Northwestern, with four of those coming against a top-five ranked Wildcats squad. RU has never defeated the nation's No. 1 ranked team. Their highest ranked win in history came over No. 2 Michigan in 2021, which gave the team their first ever Big Ten Tournament title.
The other side of the bracket for a potential Big Ten Championship game features No. 2 seed Maryland, No. 3 seed Michigan, No. 6 seed Indiana and No. 7 seed Iowa. Rutgers went 1-3 versus those teams this year, beating Iowa.
Big Ten Tournament History
Rutgers is 4-8 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, qualifying for the event in nine of the 10 previous seasons as a league member. Last season RU was the No. 2 seed and defeated host Michigan in the opening round (1-0) prior to a loss to No. 3 seed Maryland (2-1). Prior to that, all of RU's lifetime wins in the Big Ten Tournament have come during a 3-0 run to the Big Ten Tournament title in 2021.
Rutgers at Big Ten Tournament
2014: 3-0 Loss to 2-Seed Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2015: Did not qualify
2016: 3-1 Loss to 1-Seed Maryland (College Park, Md.)
2017: 4-3 Loss to 4-Seed Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.) - round one on campus sites
2018: 1-0 Loss (2OT) to No. 4-Seed Ohio State - round one on campus sites
2019: 3-1 Loss to No. 3-Seed Northwestern (State College, Pa.)
Spring 2021: 2-1 Loss to No. 3-Seed Northwestern (Iowa City, Iowa)
Fall 2021: Big Ten Tournament Champions (Piscataway, N.J.)
3-1 Win over No. 7 seed Indiana
2-1 Win over No. 3 seed Penn State
1-0 Win over No. 4 seed Michigan
2022: 2-1 Loss to No. 3 seed Northwestern (Columbus, Ohio)
2023: 1-0 Win over No. 7 seed Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2-1 Loss to No. 3 seed Maryland (Ann Arbor, Mich.)