No. 17 Rutgers Field Hockey Defeats Michigan State 5-1 for First Big Ten Win
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers field hockey took control of the game and dominated Michigan State on Friday afternoon, winning 5-1 for the team’s first Big Ten win over the season. The Scarlet Knights (7-1, 1-1 Big Ten) outshot the Spartans (4-6, 0-2 Big Ten) by a 14-2 margin, including 9-0 in the opening half, and had five different goal scorers in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Midway through the opening half, the Scarlet Knights scored a pair of goals just over two minutes apart to take a 2-0 lead. Linde van Schaik tallied first, taking a pass from Daphne Groothuis into the very top of the circle and sending in a hard strike. The second goal came when Alanna Golloto sent a pass across, and Gracey Butsack slammed it home at the back post.
In the second half, RU got two quick goals to go in front 4-0. First Gollotto deflected in a shot from van Schaik for her third goal of the season. Then it was Austyn Cuneo taking the ball in space on the right side and blasting one home.
MSU cut the lead to 4-1, but RU scored last to make it a 5-1 final. Nikki Santore scored her first goal of the season by deflecting in a corner for the final margin of victory.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Meredith Civico
“I’m really pleased with the team’s overall performance. I thought we played some excellent hockey. We scored some really great goals. I really felt like it was a total team effort and everybody contributed to the win, which I thought was really good for the team and really good for our confidence going into Sunday’s matchup. We’ll just need to stay focused on us and keeping to our principles going into the game versus Ohio State.”
Sophomore Gracey Butsack
“This feels so good. It was great to be able to contribute to help the team to a win. We played really well together, just simple hockey, connecting on short passes. We used each other well and that led to this result.”
POSTGAME NOTES
- Linde van Schaik had a goal and an assist. The senior now has 20 goals and 54 points in her career. She is tied for 11th place all-time at RU in goals and moves into 10th place all-time in points.
- Gracey Butsack’s goal was her first of the season, and the sophomore ties her career-high with four points on the year.
- Alanna Gollotto had a goal and an assist, her first career game with at least one goal and one assist.
- Daphne Groothuis had two assists, tying her career high from last season with eight assists on the year. She leads the team with 18 points.
- Austyn Cuneo scored her fifth goal of the season, tying her career-high from last season.
- Santore’s goal was her first of the season and the junior’s 14th of her career.
- Kassidy Shetler made her first career start at midfield.
- Rutgers is now 5-8-1 lifetime against Michigan State and has won two straight games in the series.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights remain home to host No. 23 Ohio State on Sunday at 1 p.m. That game will be televised nationwide on Big Ten Network.
