The Knights honor the seniors and earn their third consecutive shutout win
On a sunny, mild Friday afternoon, the Scarlet Knights extended their longest winning streak this season to three games with their third straight conference shutout. The only goal of the match was scored by Puck Winter, just 14 seconds before halftime. Winter raced in to collect a blocked shot off a penalty corner and banged it into net for a 1-0 Rutgers lead. Rutgers dominated the first half, outshooting Penn State, 7-0, following up their dominant defensive performance against the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes last Sunday.
The Knights continued to dominate possession in the second half, outshooting the Lions, 11-3, and a commanding 18-3 total for the match. Penn State finally got a shot on goal in the 37th minute, and then in the 47th minute saw their best opportunity for a goal snuffed out as national defensive player of the week Sophia Howard made not one, but two saves, to preserve the one-goal lead.
The final ten minutes was all Scarlet, as Rutgers was awarded five penalty corners and had a barrage of shots – ten in total with four on the net. Though they could not add another goal, they would celebrate a hard-earned 1-0 victory. With the win, the Knights improve to 7-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play, while the Lions fall to 8-8 and 2-5 in conference.
By reaching a .500 record after today’s match, Rutgers is not only eligible to be ranked but also eligible for an at-large NCAA tournament bid. 19 teams qualify for the tourney, including eight at-large bids and the Knights are currently in the mix with an RPI at No. 14.
Rutgers honored nine seniors – eight student-athletes and a student manager in a postgame ceremony: Paulina Niklaus, Indy van Ek, Ava Cickavage, Lucy Bannatyne, Guillermina Causarano, Vicky Jure, Bridy Molyneaux, Sophia Howard , and student-manager Amy Kim.
Notable
- Puck Winter had her first goal of the season after scoring eight last season.
- Sophia Howard, the reigning Big Ten and national NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week, made two saves for her third straight shutout and fourth of the season.
- Rutgers has 40 ranked wins since 2018
Next Up
- The final regular season game, up I-95 to take on UMass Lowell on Friday, November 1. The Big Ten Tournament follows on November 7, hosted by the University of Maryland.