Maryland field hockey takes on No. 17 Rutgers in its final regular-season Big Ten game, trying to snap its losing streak.
No. 11 Maryland (8-6, 4-3 Big Ten) looks to bounce back after losing to Indiana and No. 2 Northwestern last weekend.
The Terps have had success against Rutgers in the past, with an 18-2 record against the Scarlet Knights.
Maryland had similar success against both Ohio State and Indiana, two teams that have defeated the Terps this season.
Rutgers Preview
Rutgers (8-7, 3-3 Big Ten) is led by Meredith Civico, a former Terp who helped Maryland win a national championship in 2005. Civico is in her 14th year with the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers is coming off back-to-back losses as well, losing to Northwestern 5-0 and Iowa 4-3 in overtime.
Its offense is led by junior forward Olivia Fraticelli, who has nine goals and 20 points. Sophomore Sophie Kuiper has scored seven goals, while graduate Paulina Niklaus leads the team with six assists on the season.
The Rutgers offense has been especially good lately. They have scored 13 goals in their last five games, including four against Indiana and five against Michigan State.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Emily Nicholls is holding down the defense for Rutgers. Nicholls has started all 15 games for the Scarlet Knights and made 90 saves.
Rutgers’ defense struggled in both losses, allowing eight goals combined. Facing a Terps offense that has had its fair share of struggles this season, the Scarlet Knights’ defense looks to get back on track.
Which Version of Maryland Will Show Up?
Maryland has been very inconsistent this year, and its last two games have proven that more than any other two-game stretch.
The Terps’ performance in their loss to Indiana was uninspiring. They played dysfunctionally on offense for nearly the entire game and failed to score after the opening minute, leading to their first loss to the Hoosiers in program history.
But in the first half against Northwestern, Maryland outplayed the then top-ranked team in the country. The Terps ultimately lost to the Wildcats, but they showed that the team that has been ranked as high as No. 4 is still somewhere within.
In a crucial battle for positioning in the Big Ten, the Terps need to play like they did in the first half against Northwestern to solidify a high seed in the tournament.
