Women & Sport: Rutgers' winning women's teams are back in action. Here's what to know
Rutgers sportswomen made history last fall with undefeated seasons, record-breaking runs in the postseason and even the university’s first Big Ten championship title. Now, those teams are kicking off their fall seasons — and some are already turning heads with their performance.
The Rutgers women’s soccer team, for instance, is on a seven-game undefeated run to start the year. Field hockey, which last year earned the university its first Big Ten Championship title, has won two in a row, including a victory over UConn, ranked 10th in one national poll.
If you love sports, you’d be remiss not to follow these teams as they continue to succeed. So, when you do tune in, here’s what you should know.
Women’s soccer
The Scarlet Knights ended their record-setting season last year with a 19-4-2 overall record. The team secured the university its first regular-season Big Ten Conference banner after going undefeated in all of regular conference play. The team made its way successfully through the Big Ten Tournament to the championship game — then suffered their first loss of the season after falling to Michigan 1-0 . That was the team’s only loss at home last fall.
The team captivated Rutgers fans in the following weeks, though, taking off in what felt like a Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament. They had four home games in a row, and fans came out in droves, even as temperatures dropped to bitter lows. The team’s final two games of the year at Yurcak were nail biters — each ended with Rutgers on top after a scoreless double-overtime led to penalty kicks.
Their season ended in front of a national audience at the College Cup in Santa Clarita, California, where the Scarlet Knights captured the attention of women’s soccer fans. They made it to the semifinals, losing 1-0 to Florida State, the eventual national champion. Some of the team’s biggest names from last year, including Amirah Ali and Gabby Provenzano, have since gone on to play in the National Women’s Soccer League.
The team started this season ranked sixth, moved up to third and dropped again to ninth on the United Soccer Coaches Poll — going 7-0 in its first seven games, including a 3-1 win at home against La Salle on Thursday. The Scarlet Knights are now one of two teams in program history to go 7-0-0 to start the season, tied with the historic 2015 College Cup team that began 8-0-0.
They host Louisiana State University on Sunday.
Field hockey
The women’s field hockey team at Rutgers got off to a rocky start, losing two before winning their next two. Last year, the Scarlet Knights had their most successful season in program history, ending the year 19-4 — the program's most wins in a season. Earning the university its first Big Ten Tournament Championship Title after ousting Michigan 1-0 was the icing on the cake.
In a 2022 season preview, head coach Meredith Civico said: “We had an incredible group of players and worked so hard for a long time to win that championship. It was all the previous seasons building up to that moment. We felt this massive sense of accomplishment.”
The team is heading into this fall with almost an entirely new group after losing 11 players — though two of the team's top three-point scorers from last season are back: sophomore Lucy Bannatyne and junior Bridy Molyneaux. The team expects some of its seniors — Maggie Lamb, Amanda Beck, Isabella Mancini and Carly Snarski — to step up in larger roles this year.
Field hockey will have its first road game on Friday, facing Monmouth University at 3 p.m. in Long Branch. The Scarlet Knights will then return home to face Princeton University on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Other teams worth watching
Though women’s soccer and field hockey made headlines last year with their post-season runs, all women's teams are worth keeping tabs on.
Cross country will head to Michigan on Friday for its Big Ten Preview, after two meets earlier this month. Women’s golf will open its season at the Badger Invitational later on Sept. 18 in Wisconsin — three members of the team, Leigha Devine, Rikke Bordvik and Lucrezia Rossetin, were named Big Ten Golfers to watch.
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The swimming and diving team returns to the pool on Sept. 18 for the CSAA National Collegiate Open Water Swimming Championships in Lawrence, Kansas. Over the summer, two members of the swim team were set to compete in the US Nationals – Rachel Kimmel and Savana Trueb.
The women’s tennis team also resumes on Sept. 18, at the Brown University Invite in Providence. Last year, the team concluded its 2022 season with a first-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament after falling 4-3 to Purdue in a nearly five-hour match in Iowa.
Women’s rowing opens the year on Sept. 25 in Leonia against Columbia. This past summer, two Rutgers women's rowers, Hannah Heideveld (United States) and Femke Paulis (Netherlands), earned gold medals representing their countries at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Italy.
All these women are competing at the highest level of their game, even as they receive a fraction of the university’s athletic spending compared to men’s teams, as a NorthJersey.com review of Rutgers financial statements to the NCAA found. Just imagine how well they would be doing with more investment.
Women & Sport is a NorthJersey.com column devoted to female athletes from the rec league level to those in college and the pros. If you've got a tip on an athlete from North Jersey who should be noted in the column, no matter how young they are or how old, please drop me a line at anzidei@northjersey.com.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers' winning women's teams are back in action. What to know
