No. 3 Field Hockey starts as the host in the Big Ten tournament

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – No. 3 Rutgers Field Hockey will host the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since joining the league. The Scarlet Knights, who set an overall record of 15-3 and earned the No. 2 seed in the bracket, will open the action against No. 7 seeded Indiana on Thursday at 2pm.

Tournament headquarters | cards | Live statistics | Thursday livestream

Thursday’s quarter-finals will be streamed on B1G +, with Ralph Bednarcyzk (play-by-play) and Marybeth Freeman (color commentary) on the call. The semi-finals on Friday (2pm and 4:30 pm) and the championship game on Sunday (12pm) will be televised nationwide on the Big Ten Network. Dean Linke will take over from game to game on Friday while Chris Vosters will broadcast on Sunday. Kara Lentz will comment in color on both days.

Rutgers’ will host the postseason for the first time since the 2010 BIG EAST tournament. Playing in the Bauer Track & Field Complex gives RU a home advantage. The Scarlet Knights are at home 13-1 for the last two seasons, went undefeated in the spring season, and have only lost one competition to No. 1 in Iowa this season.

The Scarlet Knights, currently No. 2 nationally in the RPI and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll, recorded an overall record of 15: 3 in the regular season, which earned the team the most victories in the history of the RU program in 1986. The Scarlet Knights recorded their most conference wins since joining the league in 2014-15. The team also set program records with 10 ranked wins, four top 10 wins, and seven ranked wins on the road.

Rutgers is led by goalkeeper Gianna Glatz. The native Medford, NJ, holds career highs in goal-versus-average (0.93) and savings rate (0.803).
The team also has returning All-Americans in Katie Larmour and Milena Redlingshöfer, along with the former All-Conference selection Kerrie Burns.

The Big Ten have six teams in the top seven spots in the national poll: No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Rutgers, No. 5 Northwestern, No. 6 Maryland, and No. 7 Penn State. These teams also occupy six of the top seven spots in the RPI.

The Scarlet Knights have a number of notable milestones on the horizon if the team can defeat the Hoosiers to open the Big Ten tournament. This victory would mean:

  • 100 career wins for head coaches Meredith Civico (Enters the weekend with a 99-81 record over 10 seasons as RU head coach).
  • A program record with 16 wins this season.
  • The team’s first win in a Big Ten tournament.
  • RU’s first postseason win since the 1997 ECAC tournament.

Rutgers has qualified for the Big Ten tournament for the seventh time in eight league seasons. Indiana is the fifth different opponent for RU in the Big Ten tournament. Rutgers finished second on points with her win of the season against Penn State and was ranked second on the basis of a head-to-head tiebreaker. The No. 2 seed is the best Big Ten seed in the program, better than the fourth for the first time. Last season, RU took third place, but was number 6 after the tiebreakers.

Indiana game hints

Rutgers face Indiana in the quarterfinals, their second home game against the Hoosiers this season. Indiana finished the season 10-9 under third year head coach Kayla Bashore. The team claimed conference wins over Ohio State and Michigan State to eliminate both teams from the postseason and secure last spot. The team is led offensively by Kira Curland with seven goals and six assists. Hailey Couch contributed six goals. Goalkeeper Arabella Loveridge has 2.92 goal-against-average and 0.614 hit rate. The team started the year 4-1, the best five-game start of a season since 2014, and achieved a rankings victory over No. 21 Miami (OH), the first such victory since 2017.

Earlier this season, RU beat Indiana 1-0 in double overtime. Gianna Mancini scored the game-winning goal after an assist by Lucy Bannatyne. RU led 16-3 on shots, 7-1 on shots on goal and 13-3 on penalties.

Rutgers has a 9-2 lead over Indiana in the all-time series. Rutgers has won five matchups in a row against the Hoosiers.

If Rutgers wins, the Scarlet Knights will play against the winner of the quarterfinal match between number 3 seeded Penn State and number 6 in Maryland. The game would take place on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Rutgers beat every team this season by 1-0 margins. As RU moves forward, more Rutgers games would be televised nationwide on the Big Ten Network and broadcast on WRSU Student Radio.

A potential Big Ten championship matchup would see either No. 1 seeded Iowa, No. 4 seeded Michigan, or No. 5 seeded Northwestern.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will take place this Sunday at 10:00 pm.

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