Rutgers field hockey is through to the second round with Delaware win

Rutgers field hockey booked their ticket to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 win over Delaware. The win was the first for the program in the NCAA Tournament since 1986 for Rutgers.

A first half goal by Liz Romano (17:59) and a second half goal at 53:33 by Lucy Bannatyne staked Rutgers to the lead; Milena Redlingshoefer assisted on both Rutgers goals. Delaware answered back five minutes after Bannatyne’s goal with a goal from Grace Hoepfner to make it close.

Rutgers held on and scrapped through for the win.

“It’s one game at a time for us and this one was game one,” head coach Meredith Civico said. “That’s our approach to Sunday. We’ll debrief, recover, and prepare for our next game on Sunday.”

Earlier this season, Rutgers beat Delaware 2-0 on the road. Delaware came into the tournament ranked No. 17 in the latest NFHCA poll.

It was a big win for Rutgers, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. They will play the winner of No. 11 St. Joe’s and No. 9 Liberty on Sunday.

Rutgers is coming off a tremendous regular season in the Big Ten and followed that up by winning the Big Ten Tournament with a 1-0 win over Michigan this past Sunday. The Scarlet Knights hosted the tournament this year.