No. 21 Rutgers Field Hockey hands Monmouth first home loss in 4 years

The no. 21 Rutgers field hockey team got back into the win column on Sunday on the road, handing in-state rival Monmouth (4-2) its first home loss since 2015. After three consecutive defeats to ranked opponents (no. 4 UConn 2-0; no. 17 St. Joseph’s 2-1; no. 9 Delaware 1-0), the Scarlet Knights were led by redshirt junior Katie Larmour. She scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over the Hawks on Sunday afternoon.

The first came off an attack penalty corner during the first quarter, with Larmour deflecting a shot from redshirt senior Austyn Cuneo into the back of the net.

Monmouth tied the game on a goal from Ireen Frenken in the second quarter and it was even at halftime.

Rutgers scored in the third quarter almost the exact same way, as Cuneo’s shot from a from a penalty corner was deflected once again by Larmour for the score.

The Rutgers defense, the strength of the team, was able to keep Monmouth in check the rest of the second half to ensure a 2-1 victory. Goaltender Gianna Glatz made three saves and sophomore Abby Regn stood out on the back line.

Rutgers defense would hold strong, buoyed by the play of sophomore back Abby Regn. The Scarlet Knights held on for the 2-1 victory.

The Scarlet Knights held an 8-7 shot advantage over Monmouth 8-7 and a 6-5 edge in corners.

Head coach Meredith Civico said afterwards, “this is a great win. We knew this would be a tough game against a team that always battles down to the last second. We knew we had to play composed, move the ball and I thought we really did that well today. I’m very proud of our team’s effort today.”

No. 21 Rutgers (3-3) will face another in-state rival on the road this Friday, September 20th vs. no. 5 Princeton (3-1), who own three ranked wins this season and will be looking to avenge last season’s upset loss to the Scarlet Knights. The game begins at 6 p.m. ET.