No. 1 Rutgers field hockey lost a heartbreaker to No. 9 Liberty (19-2) on 3-2 in a penalty shootout at Bauer on Sunday. The NCAA Tournament quarterfinals loss ended the most successful season in program history.
Liberty, the Big East champions, led the nation with 3.84 goals per game entering the NCAA Tournament. The Rutgers defense held them to just two goals, but it wasn’t enough.
The Flames scored a goal in the first quarter off of a corner that was initially blocked but was kept alive before Charlotte Vaanhold finished the play.
With Rutgers trailing 1-0 into the third quarter, Milena Redlingshoefer and Gianna Mancini each scored within three minutes apart to take control of the game.