No. 11 Maryland field hockey has fallen in the rankings once again.
After two conference losses at home last weekend, the Terps dipped to 11th place, missing the top-10 for the third week this season. Now
they look to improve their road game record against their ninth ranked opponent of the year.
Maryland field hockey is headed up to Piscataway, New Jersey, to face off against Rutgers on Friday at 3 p.m. The game will stream on Big Ten Plus.
No. 17 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-7, 3-3 Big Ten)
2024 record: 8-9, 4-4 Big Ten
Rutgers advanced to the semifinals of last season’s Big Ten Tournament but lost to then-No. 1 Northwestern, 2-0. After missing the NCAA Tournament as well, the Scarlet Knights are back with a vengeance.
Currently, Rutgers is slowly crawling up the national and conference leaderboards, even after taking a few stumbles along the way. They currently rank fifth in the Big Ten, only one win behind Maryland.
Head coach Meredith Civico has plenty of experience with Terp-level talent, as she played for Maryland head coach Missy Meharg on the 2005 NCAA National Championship team. With experience on collegiate field hockey’s biggest stage, Civico is ready for the challenge.
Beating the Terps could drive the Scarlet Knights up into the top 15 of the NFHCA poll, but losing could drop them to the bottom of the rankings, losing hope for tournament redemption.
Players to know
Puck Winter, graduate defender, No. 21 — Winter’s plays in the backfield have created several new opportunities for Rutgers in conference play. The defender currently leads the Big Ten with five defensive saves for the season so far. In September, Winter made two defensive saves in the final 60 seconds of a game against Ohio State. The two plays sent the game into overtime, where Rutgers took home a victory.
Olivia Fraticelli, junior forward, No. 24 — Fraticelli’s nine goals on the season make her fifth in the Big Ten. The forward leads the Scarlet Knights in goals and points, along with maintaining a shot-on-goal percentage of 81%. In Rutgers’ last conference win against Indiana, Fraticelli scored two of the four goals logged.
Emily Nicholls, redshirt freshman goalkeeper, No. 1 — In her first season of collegiate play, Nicholls skyrocketed to the top of the Big Ten saves leaderboard, recording 90 saves in just 15 games. The redshirt freshman currently stands at second in the conference for save percentage. Nicholls posted 13 saves against No. 5 Princeton, her personal best for saves in a game this season.
Strength
Defensive dominance. The combination of Nicholls and Winter on defense makes scoring on the Scarlet Knights incredibly difficult. Nicholls currently maintains a 78.9% save percentage, while Winter out-saves everyone in the conference by at least two. Maryland’s offensive line needs to approach their attack zone with speed and accuracy to bombard the backfield.
Weakness
Roster depth. Subtracting Rutgers’ starters from the last game, the remaining players on the team only play an average of six minutes per game. The ability to pull players on the field and keep them fresh without losing the caliber of play is a huge advantage that Meharg maintains. Without a roster deep enough to play more people, the responsibility of excellence falls on the starters’ shoulders.
Three things to watch
1. The Nexus Connection. In July, at the 2025 USA Field Hockey Senior Nexus Championship, Terps and Scarlet Knights took the field together in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Fraticelli played alongside Maryland field hockey’s Callie Rogers on Team Vancouver. Nicholls defended the goal while Maryland sisters Brinkley and AJ Eyre played in the midfield.
2. A history of close games. The last six matchups between the Terps and Scarlet Knights were decided by just one goal. Maryland won their last game 3-2, thanks to a goal by Kylee Niswonger assisted by Ella Gaitan.
3. A coach on the inside. Before she joined the Terps earlier this year, Maryland assistant coach Maddy Sposito spent nine seasons at Rutgers, where she helped the Scarlet Knights win a Big Ten title in 2021.
