No. 23 Rutgers Field Hockey Still Perfect, Beat No. 6 Princeton 1-0

Similar story, different outcome.

Last season. Rutgers Field Hockey was undefeated (4-0) until they faced then No. 12 Princeton and fell 4-1 in the first meeting between the two teams since 2006. Nikki Santore scored the only goal for Rutgers. Princeton led in both shots and corners.

But Rutgers is trusting the process this season.

On a cold and rainy day with 271 fans in attendance, Princeton again led in shots (13-2) and penalty corners (9-1) but goalkeeper Gianna Glatz and the Rutgers defense held steady to help the Scarlet Knights pick up their highest ranked win in program history and first ever win over a top-10 program. Rutgers had not beaten Princeton since 1995 (the year I was born, in case you wanted to feel old today).

Neither team broke through during the first half and they did not have their first shot attempt for nearly 27 minutes. The second half saw most of the action. Austyn Cuneo put Rutgers in the lead for good at the beginning of the second half on a penalty corner with an assist from captain Linde van Schaik, who also received a green card later in the game. The Tigers controlled possession after the goal and had many chances to score but did not.

This is the team’s fourth shutout and second ranked win of the season. They improve to 5-0, which is the team’s best start since 2008 when they began 6-0. It cannot be stated enough just how important this win is for this team and for this program. It was a gutsy and gritty team win.

Glatz made six saves in the second half (seven total) to earn her seventh career shutout. She boasts a 0.43 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Cuneo now leads the team in goals with four and also scored the only goal in a win over Cornell on Friday.

The Scarlet Knights will face No. 7 Michigan in their first conference matchup and road game of the regular season on Friday. They will also play Longwood on Sunday at a neutral location.