No. 8 Rutgers field hockey defeats No. 16 Syracuse 3-2 in double OT

No. 8 Rutgers field hockey won its second consecutive double overtime contest against a ranked opponent on Friday as they defeated No. 16 Syracuse 3-2. It comes one week after they defeated then No. 6 UConn by the same score. On this day, Freshman Lucy Bannatyne scored the game winner in the 73rd minute to secure the win behind her team leading third goal of the season. The Scarlet Knights moved to 4-0 this fall that includes three victories coming against ranked foes. The Orange fell to 2-2 on the season.

Senior Gianna Mancini got things started when she scored the eighth goal of her career off of a rebound from a corner to give RU a 1-0 lead just nine minutes into the action.

The score remained the same until Milena Redlingshoefer found Carly Snarski in position to finish and score, which put Rutgers in front 2-0 in the third quarter.

Syracuse didn’t give up though and scored twice in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. Laura Graziosi scored the first goal and assisted on the game tying goal from Quirine Comans.

After no score in the first overtime, the second extra session saw Bannatyne re-enter the game and promptly steal the ball. She went the length of the field on the left side and ended the game with a rocket shot that hit the back of the net.

RU held an 18-9 shot advantage over Syracuse 18-9 in this game, as well as an 7-5 edge on penalty corners. All-American goalkeeper Gianna Glatz had three saves for her second win of the season after missing the first two contests as she was in net for Team USA at the Junior Pan Am Games.

This was just the seventh win for Rutgers in 28 meetings against Syracuse all-time and was the first since 2003.

The Scarlet Knights hit the road on Sunday to face No. 17 St. Joseph’s at 1 p.m. ET. The Hawks are just 3-2, but after losses to ranked Big Ten teams Maryland and Penn State, they broke through with 3-2 victory over No. 4 North Carolina at home on Friday.

Rutgers head coach Meredith Civico said before the season in regard to scheduling that “We have to schedule by preparing for Big Ten play, but also putting ourselves in a position to get into the NCAA Tournament with an at-large berth if possible. We are playing the top teams in the region.” So far the non-conference slate has delivered and the Scarlet Knights have met the challenge. They’ll look to continue to strong start to the season this Sunday in Philadelphia.