On Monday, No. 16 Rutgers field hockey completed its West Coast road trip with a perfect 3-0 record. After trailing Cal 1-0 early, the Scarlet Knights scored two unanswered goals to seal the victory.
The Golden Bears scored four minutes into the game, the first goal that RU allowed in the young season. It was Northwestern transfer and three-time First Team All-American Bente Baekers who finished in open space on the right side.
Rutgers bounced back quickly as they scored a third goal off a penalty corner through three games. Puck Winter scored her second goal of the season that was assisted by Guillermina Causarano and Vicky Jure.
Iris Langejans missed the first penalty stroke of her career after it was blocked right before halftime. She converted the third of her career on Sunday in the win over Stanford.
The Scarlet Knights were tied with Cal 1-1 at the break despite holding an 8-4 shot advantage and 3-1 edge in corners.
Rutgers took the lead for good with just under four minutes remaining in the third period. Caurasano found the ball off a deflection and capitalized with her second goal of the season. She owns the team lead with five points through three games.
Cal continued to battle and produced six penalty corners in the fourth period. However, the Rutgers defense held strong and was able to seal the road victory.
RU finished with a 15-10 shot advantage including 9-6 with shots on goal. Cal held a 8-6 advantage on corners. Goalkeeper Sophia Howard continued her strong play and made 5 saves in the win.
The Scarlet Knights are 3-2 all-time against Cal but met for the first time on Monday since 2002. Rutgers is off to a 3-0 start for the second time in three seasons. They won all three games in California spread over four days, the most they’ve played in that time span since winning the Big Ten Tournament in 2021.
Rutgers continues its challenging start to the season with the next four games also on the road. The Scarlet Knights will face No. 15 UConn in Storrs on Friday, September 1 at 4:00 p.m. The Huskies are 1-1 with a win over Monmouth and loss to St. Joseph’s. RU beat UConn, also ranked No. 15 in last year’s meeting, 1-0 in overtime in Piscataway. Head coach Meredith Civico’s team will look to recover quickly and keep the perfect start to its season going this weekend.
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