Oct. 20, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 Penn State (12-2, 4-2 B1G) is set to travel to Piscataway N.J. to face off against Rutgers Friday afternoon at Bauer Track and Field/Field Hockey Complex.
WEEKEND RECAP
In front of a record breaking crowd of 967 fans at the Penn State field hockey complex, the Nittany Lions dropped a close contest to No. 6 Maryland as the Terrapins won the match 5-4 in the penultimate home game for the Nittany Lions.
RUTGERS SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 15-4-3 all-time against Rutgers in a series dating back to 1977. The Nittany Lions last faced the Scarlet Knights on Oct. 16, 2015 when Penn State pulled off a 3-2 overtime victory.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers split their last outings as they fell 4-3 to Michigan State on Oct. 14, followed by a 3-1 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 16.
The Scarlet Knights are currently 8-6 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. Rutgers boasts a 5-3 record at home including three shutouts (5-0 against VCU, 13-0 against Siena and 1-0 against Saint Joseph's University).
-On the national leaderboard, Rutgers is currently ranked No. 3 with an average of 8.50 penalty corners per game, No. 10 with 3.43 goals per game and No. 10 with 3.39 scoring average, the Scarlet Knights are No. 3, No. 10 and No. 10 respectively
- At home, Rutgers has been able to score 39 goals while holding their opponents to a total of 18 on the season.
- Linde van Schaik is the top goal scorer for the Scarlet Knights with eight goals through 14 games. She also has three assists on the season making her the top point scorer with 19 pts.
HOW TO WATCH
For Nittany Lion fans who cannot make it out to Piscataway, N.J. on Friday afternoon, the match will be aired on BTN2GO starting at 3 p.m. Live stats are also available through the link provided above.
NFHCA RANKINGS
Tied for the fourth-best record in the nation at 12-2 overall, Penn State dropped one spot to No. 6 in the latest NFHCA rankings. Penn State is 6-2 against ranked teams including wins over No. 20 Old Dominion, No. 5 Virginia, No. 9 UAlbany, No. 16 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan and No. 11 Princeton.
Penn State is currently ranked in the top five in the nation in several key categories including No. 2 in the nation in scoring margin (2.93), No. 3 in goals per game (4.57), Points per game (12.29), scoring average (4.57) and penalty corners per game (8.50)
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
22-of-27 players on the Lions roster have seen significant playing time this season allowing for Penn State to score in a plethora of ways. 11 Lions have scored at least one goal, with seven of them scoring five or more through 14 games this season.
YOUTHFUL TEAM
Holding an underclassmen to upperclassmen ratio of 17-10, No. 5 Penn State is one of two teams ranked in the Top 10 in the nation with more underclassmen than upperclassmen.
TOP OF THE CHARTS
Averaging .93 assist per game, Penn State's Moira Putsch is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Fellow Nittany Lion Aurelia Meijer is not far behind as her .85 assist per game currently ranks No. 5. In the cage, Jenny Rizzo is ranked No .6 in goalie Win-loss percentage (.846)
COUNTDOWN TO 500
Currently sitting at 495 career wins over her 33 years of coaching, head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss is just five wins away from the 500 mark for her career.
POSTSEASON TRADITION
The Nittany Lions return after making the NCAA Tournament field five of the last six seasons. Penn State has been at the top of the Big Ten in those seasons as well, being named co-conference regular season champions in 2013 and the outright winner in 2012. The squad won the Big Ten Tournament in 2011 and 2012.
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