Rain poured down onto Gladchuk Field, drenching spectators and athletes, but Mali Herberhold was too busy to notice. Just 45 seconds into the match she dribbled down the field and found a hole at the top of the circle, slapping the ball through defenders and past the Rutgers goalie. This goal put the Massachusetts field hockey team on the board 45 seconds into the game, and kickstarted energy to an overall defensive effort. Despite the rainy weather at Gladchuk field hockey complex Sunday, this goal set the tone early.
UMass (6-4, 2-0 Atlantic 10) had the upper hand, scoring early in the game, but fell to No.7 Rutgers (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) 4-2. The Minutewomen had 13 total shots on goal and six offensive penalty corners but could not capitalize on these opportunities.
“We came out really strong and played some of our best hockey all season in the first eight minutes of that game, [Herberhold] was obviously able to put one on the board very early on,” Head Coach Barb Weinberg said. “We played with Rutgers, we out-statted them a bit. We know that this team is at the point where we can really start playing with and beating some top opponents and [Sunday] we didn’t take care of the details like we should.”
Strong defensive tactics helped lead UMass to start the game strong, but Rutgers scored two goals off deflections going into the second period, leaving UMass with a gap to fill. Goalie Myrte van Herwijnen kept the Minutewomen afloat, recording six saves. She has shown a consistent ability to protect the net, recording at least six saves in three out of the four past games and totaling over 20 saves in her 2023 campaign.
The Scarlet Knights ended the first half with two goals coming from Guillermina Causarano. At 48:33 she found the right side of the goal at the top of the circle for her third goal, and took advantage of a whistle miscommunication, scoring unassisted on an open net at 21:05.
“We still have to play until the whistle,” Weinberg said. “When we are a player down, being able to manage that and follow and stay underneath the play, and diving in, that’s something we talked about on defense.”
Rutgers added to its lead in the final 15 minutes, scoring once more to widen the gap with the Minutewomen. Causarano scored again, and Indy van Ek got one of her own, scoring with a tip-in off a save in front of the goal.
The Minutewomen found themselves in scoring position with no time left in the game when a stroke was called on Rutgers. Jess Beech stepped up, sending the ball into the back left hand corner for her third goal of the season.
“Now it’s going to be more situational. What do we do when we are a player down, what we do when we are a player up, how do we capitalize. We need to use our hockey brains when the situation changes,” Weinberg said.
Before Sunday, the Minutewomen had never lost to Rutgers and their winning record vs the Scarlet Knights now stands at 13-1-1. UMass’ next game is against VCU in Richmond, Virginia on Friday, Sept. 29.
Lucy Postera can be reached at [email protected].
